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GUIDE 



THE ORACLES; 



THE BIBLE STUDENT'S VADE-MECUM. 



BY 



ALFRED NEYIN, D.D., 

H 
AUTHOR OF " SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION," " CHURCHES OF THE VALLEY," KTC. 



I -will not forget thy word. — Ps. cxix. 16. 

This lamp, from off the everlasting throne, 
Mei-cy took down, and in the night of time 
Stood, casting on the dark her gracious bow, 
And evermore beseeching men with tears 
And earnest sighs, to hear, believe, and live. 

POLLOK. 



LANCxiSTER, PA.: 

MURRAY, YOUNa & CO. 

1857. 



C/r^ 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by 

MURRAY, YOUNG & CO., 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern 



District of Pennsylvania. 



STEREOTYPED BY J. FAGAN, PHILADELPHIA. 



THIS VOLUME 



)ts Betifcatctr 



SEPTIMUS TUSTIN, D.D., 

OF WASHINGTON CITY, 



BX-CHAPLAIIT OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 



AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE AUTHOR'S 



PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL REGARD. 



(iii) 



PREFACE 



" "Vessels of moderate draught," says the author of a re- 
cent and valuable work on " The Evidences of Christianity," 
" may go up the tributary streams of public thought, and may 
deal advantageously with the minds of men, where others of 
heavier tonnage could never reach," In this fact the follow- 
ing pages find whatever apology or warrant they require for 
their publication. They are not intended for learned theo- 
logians, or for students of Biblical science who have access to 
large libraries, but for Sabbath-school and Bible-class teachers 
and scholars, and others who feel the need, as it is believed 
many do, of a convenient and compendious volume, to which 
they can at any time turn for information to aid them in 
understanding and defending the Word of God. They have 
been prepared to serve in this direction as a manual, to which 
recourse can be had with confidence and comfort, for explana- 
tions which might be found elsewhere, but only after research 
involving a greater expenditure of time and means. By this 
avowal of their design it is hoped they will be judged. 

It is but just to state that, in the construction of the work, 
everything has been brought to bear upon its object within 
the author's reach. Anxious to make the " Guide" as tho- 
rough and complete as due regard to its purpose and popular 
character would admit, he has brought himself under obliga- 
tion " much every way" to others, whose labors have been 
bestowed upon the same region of inquiry and instruction. 
From the productions of some of them he has transferred to 
his own, both in substance and form, a great deal which could 
1* (v) 



VI PREFACE. 

not have been omitted without loss, or altered with any im- 
provement. This general and grateful acknowledgment of 
indebtedness is designed to look with speciality to the " Scrip- 
ture Help," from the pen of the Rev. Edward Bickersteth, 
which reached the seventeenth London edition, and was re- 
published in this country in 1833, — as well as to another 
little work, entitled "Bible Remembrancer," which has also 
an English author, (Rev. Ingram Cobbin), and which, so far 
as is known, has never been issued from the American press. 
It is scarcely necessary to say, that the " Yade-Mecuni" 
has nothing sectarian in it, except as this may be affirmed of 
the cardinal doctrines of the Scriptures, in the reception and 
maintenance of which all the evangelical branches of the 
Christian Church agree. With some who may be kind 
enough to look into the volume, this may be an objection to 
it, but to others it will probably prove an attraction. The 
lines of Cowper are applicable now, as well as when they 
were written : — 

" Were love, in these the world's last doting years. 
As frequent as the want of it appears, 
The churches warmed, they would no longer hold 
Such frozen figures, stifi" as they are cold; 
Relenting forms would lose their power, or cease. 
And e'en the dipped and sprinkled live in peace ; 
Each heart would quit its prison in the breast, 
And flow in free communion with the rest." 

The truthfulness and force of these sentiments, praised^be 
the Lord ! are now beginning to be perceived, and felt by the 
followers of the Lamb. God's dear people are coming to 
realize that it is what they agree in, that makes them Chris- 
tians, and what they differ about, that makes them sectarians, 
as well as to look with a more solemn and searching eye upon 
their Saviour's 

" Holy prayer. 
His tenderest and his last," — 



PREFACE. Vll 

" That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and 
I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world 
may believe that thou hast sent me." They are awaking to 
the folly, mingled with guilt, of magnifying the separating 
bars between them, while they are minifying the bonds which 
should make them cohere. They are becoming inclined to 
yield more, in a spiritual sense, to the centripetal, and less to 
the centrifugal, force which is bearing upon them, and thus 
approximating their common center, they are coming nearer 
to one another. While they appreciate and guard, as they 
should, until a more excellent way is indicated, their several 
denominational organizations and formulas, they are getting 
ashamed of the too just reproach, that — 

'' With zeal we watch, 
And weigh the doctrine, while the spirit 'scapes, 
And in the carving of our cvimmin-seeds, 
Our metaphysical hair-splittings, fail 
To note the orbit of that star of love 
Which never sets." 

This tendency the author freely confesses he would much 
rather take the responsibility of helping than hindering, and 
hence, if any regrets should be felt by his friends as to the 
wholly unsectarian character of the work, it is certain that 
he will be troubled with none himself. 

It may only be added that some of the chapters on distinc- 
tive peculiarities of the Bible, here given, were originally 
furnished as communications to a religious journal, but in 
their present form have been enlarged, and perhaps improved. 

With all its imperfections, the volume is sent forth under 
the implored blessing of Him who receives the feeblest tribute 
to His praise, and every well-meant effort in. His service, and 
whom it is man's chief end to glorify and enjoy for ever. 
Thus attended and endorsed, may it prove at least to some, 
into whose possession it may come, a useful companion to 
the " Book Divine," which, it should never be forgotten, is 



Vlll PREFACE. 

best understood and most loT'ed, -when read in the spirit of 
the prayer prefixed to some editions of the early English ver- 
sions of it : — 

"0 gracious God and most merciful Father, which hast 
vouchsafed us the rich and precious jewel of thy Holy ^Yord, 
assist us by the Spirit, that it may be written in our hearts, 
to our everlasting comfort, to reprove us, to renew us, accord- 
ing to thine own image, to build us up, and edify us, unto 
the perfect building of thy Christ, sanctifying and increasing 
in us all heavenly virtues. Grant this, Heavenly Father, 
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen." 

Lancaster, Aug. 25ih, 1857. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Thr Pbeservation of the Bible. — The treatment of the Bible 
by its enemies — now printed on the press used by Voltaire and 
the French Institute to disseminate their infidelity — question 
in regard to it at a dinner-party in Edinburgh — it has not even 
been diluted by tl*e lapse of ages — as the truth of God it shall 
never expire..... 13 

The Unity of the Bible. — When, where, and by whom it was 
written — its agreement with itself in the account of facts nar 
rated — the unity of its representations of religious truth — har- 
mony existing between the Old and New Testaments — what this 
unity proves 19 

The Freshness of the Bible. — Anecdote of Queen Elizabeth 
— the Bible wisely made as a field and not as a garden — testi- 
monies of its inexhaustibleness from Cecil, Le Clerc, Bishop 
Home, John Newton, Dr. Arnold, and Robert Hall 28 

Silence op the Bible. — Silence sometimes more significant than 
speech — Bible like sun-dial teaches by its shadow as well as its 
light — it is silent as to God's existence, heaven, &c. — does not 
minister to human curiosity — its boldness in stating where it 
cannot fully explain is indicative of its inspiration 35 

The Avoidances of the Bible. — Illustration from a company 
of navigators — sacred writers might have committed themselves 
to some wrong theory — -they always held fast the spiritual idea 
— they avoided extravagance in style, any efi'ort to conceal each 
other's infirmities and sins, and any attempt to explain the 
mystery of the Divine Nature 40 

The Literature of the Bible. — Opinions of Milton, Sir Mat- 
thew Hale, Hon. Robert Boyle, Sir William Jones, and Rous- 
seau — the Bible's history — its laconic maxims and rules — its 
parables — its narratives — its incidents of travel — its poetry — 
the aid it has rendered in this species of composition — nothing 
but its religious character prevents its universal and unbounded 
admiration 44 

The Bible — the Patriot's Book. — Patriotism accounted for — 
the mere diffusion of knowledge not suflBcient for a nation's 
prosperity — nor that morality which is the deduction of human 
reason — nor laws — the Bible alone can produce and preserve 
national freedom and happiness — opinions of Perrier, Washing- 
ton, and Dugald Stewart 51 

(ix) 



X CONTENTS. 

Page 

The Mysterioitsness of the Bible. — Infidels object to the 

Scriptures in a wrong spirit — had there been no difiBculties this 

would have been carped at — a book for the world must have 

secrets — there is mystery in every thing — there is a necessity 

for mysteries 60 

The Bible's Triumph over Scrutiny. — It has stood the test of 
geology — astronomy — geogmphy — various readings — antiqua- 
rian research — statement of Sir H. Rawlinson — letter of Lieu- 
tenant Maury 67 

The English Bible. — First translations of the Bible were pre- 
vious to the invention of printing — Wickliffe's translation — 
Tindal's translation — Coverdale's printed edition — Taverner's 
Bible — the Bishops' Bible — the Douay Bible — King James' 
Bible — first Bible printed on the Continent of America — excel- 
lence of the received English version of the Bible — ancient 
divisions and order of the Bible — modern divisions of the 

Bible 75 

Testimony FOR the Bible. — A Society of gentlemen in England 
— opinions of Col. Allen — Lord Byron — Bonaparte — Lord 
Bolingbroke — Rousseau — a Deist — Sir William Jones — Hon. 
Robert Boyle — John Locke — Addison — Salmasius — Lord 
Rochester — Sir Isaac Newton — Selden — Edward VI., of Eng- 
land — Wilberforce — Sir Walter Scott — Eisher Ames — John 

Quincy Adams 93 

The Influence of the Bible on its Enemies. — Tree known 
by its fruits — contrast of Rousseau with Voltaire — of Volney 
with Schwartz — description of dying sceptic — death-scene of 
Voltaire — Mirabeau — Paine — Hobbes — Emerson — description 
of dying Christian — death of Paul — John Knox — Addison — 

Halyburton — Doddridge — Hervey — Toplady — Payson 104 

Chronological Order of the Books of the Old Testament. 114 

Names of the Bible 115 

The Books op the Bible (Old Testament ). — Some account of 
their authors, their date, and their general character and design, 

with references in each 117 

The Apocryphal Books 154 

Books of the Old Testament. — The number of chapters they 

severally contain 157 

Close of the Old Testament. — Close of its history — its pro- 
phecies — completion of the Canon 158 

Civil and Moral History of the Jews from Malachi ro 
John the Baptist 159 



CONTENTS. XI 

Page 

Religious Sects among the Jews. — Pharisees — Sadducees — 
Essenes — Scribes and Lawyers — Galileans — Ilerodians — Prose- 
lytes — Samaritans — Christians 102 

Summary Statement of Events Between the Old and New 
Testaments 172 

Table of the Books of the New Testament. — Some account 
of their authors — places where written — and the general char- 
acter of their contents 175 

Scripture Difficulties. — Brief explanation of difficult texts, 
from Genesis to Kevelation 196 

The Flood. — Proof of it from tradition, and mineralogical and 
fossil history — capacity of the Ark — the universality of the 
Deluge — it was a miraculous and supernatural event 218 

Tower of Babel. — Its design — frequent allusion to it in ancient 
history — opinions as to any remaining traces of it 224 

Genealogical List of Jacob's Family. — Account in Gen. xlvi. 
8, 27, shown to be consistent with itself, and with Stephen's 
statement, in Acts vii. 14 226 

Destruction of the Canaanites. — They were pvtnished for their 
great wickedness — their destruction is no proof that the Bible 
is not inspired any more than destruction of nations by sword 
and pestilence is proof that there is no moral government of 
the earth — goodness of God prompts him to express his abhor- 
rence of sin — there can be no just objection to the Israelites 
being the instruments of the punishment inflicted 229 

Demoniacal Possession. — List of the cases mentioned in the 
New Testament — the word demons properly signifies devils — 
possessions were not mere diseases — a distinction is drawn be- 
tween curing diseases and casting out devils — evident from lan- 
guage of Christ that demoniacs were not persons merely of 
disordered intellect — demoniacs knew our Lord's character — 
they were not possessed because of any peculiar wickedness — 
why cases of this description were so numerous at the com- 
mencement of the Christian era 233 

Importance of Reading the Bible. — Appreciation of Arch- 
bishop Cranmer's edition by the people — prohibition of reading 
except by nobility in the 34th of Henry the VIII— ours an age 
of light and liberty — every man who believes the Bible is from 
God, will study it attentively — various reasons for reading the 
Scriptures — several directions for doing this 240 

To Read the Bible through in a Year..... 255 



Xll CONTEXTS. 

Pagb 

schrptcre explaxatioxs 258 

Memorable Etzxts, arranged ix the Order of Scripture. 259 

Origix of Xatioss 261 

Heathex Moxarchs particularly mextiosed nr Scripture> 

WITS THE KlXGS OP JuD^A, OR THE IdUMEAX RaCE 262 

Physical features op Palestixe. — (Showing the progress of 
the seasons, the prevailing winds, and weather, for each month 

in the year.) 268 

AscTEN'T Capitals axd Rexowxed Cities 269 

Remarkable Mouxtaixs axb Hills 272 

Remarkable RivEr.s and Lakes 273 

Praters 274 

The Lord's Prayer Illustrated 275 

Symbolical Laxguage used by tee Poets axd Prophets 276 

Selah, explanation of the word 278 

Key to the Promises 279 

Threatexixgs axd "Warxixgs 288 

Bible Aids for Social axd Pritate Prayer ,... 293 

Coxtests of the Bible 297 

A Collectiox of the Names axd Titles givex Jesus Christ... 298 

Xamks axd Titles of the Holy Spirit 300 

Miscellaxeous 301 

ISSTANCES of PrOPHECY COMPARED WITH HiSTORY 305 

PERIODS OF Bible History 306 

Table of Hebrew Times axd Festivals 307 

Words of Scripture requirixg Explaxatiox 308 

Chroxology of our Saviour's Life 310 

Table of Importaxt Evexts ix Profaxe History dcrixg 

Life op Christ 311 

Parables of Jesus arraxged 311 

Miracles " " 312 

Discourses *' '•' 313 

Parables ix Old Testamext 314 

Miracles ix Acts of Apostles 314 

Miracles ix Old Testamext 315 

Table of TTeights axd Measures 316 

Scripture Proper Names, vith their Sigxificatioxs 318 



GUIDE TO THE ORACLES. 



" Read and revere the sacred page ; a page 
Which not the whole creation could produce, 
Which not the conflagration shall destroy, 
In Nature's ruins not one letter lost." 

With what wonder should we gaze upon a fortress 
that had withstood the assaults of succeeding gene- 
rations for thousands of years! And with what 
strange interest should we look at a man, who, 
during a life of many centuries, had often been cast 
into the sea without being drowned, and drugged 
with strychnine without being poisoned, and riddled 
with bullets without being numbered with the slain ! 
Thus has it been with the Word of God during all 
its history. Men have made it their enemy by their 
bad lives, and then have become its enemies, and 
hated it, and sought to destroy it. 

Jehoiakim, as we read, cut to pieces the Divine 

Eoll, and threw it into the fire. About one hundred 

and seventy years before Christ, Antiochus caused 

all the copies of the Jewish Scriptures to be burnt. 

2 (13) 



14 THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE. 

Three hundred and three years after, Dioclesian, by 
an edict, ordered all the Scriptures to be committed 
to the flames; and Eusebius, the historian, tells us 
he saw large heaps of them burning in the market- 
place. Nor has this spirit ever failed to show itself. 
The Bible has, all along its course, had to struggle 
against opposition, visible and latent, artful and vio- 
lent^ It has had to contend with the prevalence of 
error, the tyranny of passion, and the cruelty of 
persecution. Numerous foes have risen up against 
it — Pagans, who have aimed to destroy it, and 
Papists who have striven to monopolize it, and un- 
godly men, who have hated it for its pmity and 
penalties. 

But from all these assaults it has been preserved. 
Though cast into the fire, it has risen triumphantly 
from its ashes ; though crushed, yet, like the diamond, 
every part of which when broken exhibits the beauty 
and perfection of the whole, it has proved its inde- 
structibility; and, though sunk in the waters, it has 
come up again studded with the costliest pearls. It 
has sui'vived the shocks of all its enemies, and with- 
stood the ravages of time. Like the fabled pillars 
of Seth, which are said to have bid defiance to the 
deluge, it has stood unmoved in the midst of that 
flood which sweeps away men, with their labors, into 
oblivion. 

Oh, what wreck and ruin meet the eye as it glances 
at the past ! Thrones have crumbled, empires have 
fallen, and philosophers and their systems have 



THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE. 15 

vanished away. The very monuments of man's 
power have been converted into the mockery of his 
weakness. His eternal cities moulder in their ruins, 
and the serpent hisses in the cabinet where he 
planned his empire, and echo is startled by the foot 
which breaks the silence that has reigned for ages 
in his hall of feast and song. Yet, notwithstanding 
all this desolation, the stream which first bubbled up 
at the foot of the Eternal Throne, has continued to 
roll on with silent majesty and might, bearing down 
each opposing barrier, and declaring to perishing 
multitudes on its brink, that, while "all flesh is grass, 
and all the glory of man as the flower of grass, the 
Word of the Lord endureth for ever." 

No weapon that has ever been formed against the 
Bible has prospered. It has survived the power of 
secret treachery and open violence. The time has 
been, when to read it w^as death. Infidelity has 
fought against it with relentless malignity, but it has 
successfully resisted all its potency, passing unhurt 
through the hands of Julians, and Celsuses, and 
Porphyrys, and defying all the sophistries of Hume, 
and the eloquence of Gibbon, and the innuendoes of 
Rousseau, and the blasphemy of Paine, and the vitu- 
perations of Voltaire. The identical press, indeed, 
which was employed by Voltaire and the French In- 
stitute to disseminate their attacks upon the Bible, 
has since been used to print the very volume they 
so vainly sought to destroy. 

Thus has the Word of the Lord lived and tri- 



16 THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE. 

umphed. Portions of it were written thousands of 
years ago. Whole libraries of works have perished, 
of much more modern date. Never was book more 
bitterly hated. Most malevolent efforts have been 
put forth for its annihilation. Kings, and emperors, 
and generals, philosophers, statesmen, and legisla- 
tors, have all aimed at its extirpation. Yet has it 
flourished; while its adversaries have been blasted 
one after another, and never did it bid so fair, as at 
present, to be the Book of the whole family of man- 
kind. 

Many years ago, at a dinner-party in Edinburgh, a 
gentleman present put a question which puzzled the 
whole company. It was this : — " Supposing all the 
New Testaments in the world had been destroyed at 
the end of the third century, could their contents have 
been recovered from the writings of the three first 
centuries ?" The question was a novel one, and no 
person hazarded a guess in answer to the inquiry. 
About two months after this meeting, Lord Hailes, 
who had been present, said to a friend who visited 
him, as he pointed to a table covered with papers — 
" There, I have been busy these two months with 
the writers of these centuries, searching for chapters, 
half chapters, and sentences of the New Testament, 
and have marked down what I have found, and where 
I have found it, so that any person may examine 
and see for themselves. I have actually discovered 
the whole of the New Testament from these writings, 
except seven or eleven verses, (I forget which,) which 



THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE. IT 

satisfies me that I could discover them also." 
''Now," he added, " here was a way in which God 
concealed, or hid the treasures of his Word, that 
Julian, the apostate emperor, and other enemies of 
Christ, who wished to extirpate the gospel from the 
world, would never have thought of, and though they 
had, they never could have effected their destruc- 
tion." 

Thus is it true that God's word is embalmed and 
perpetuated, in methods which Divine Wisdom alone 
could think of employing. 

ISTor is this all. Not only has the Bible not been 
destroyed, but it has not been diluted by the lapse 
of ages. It has not been ruined by the sapping of 
its foundations, or by the incorporation of any new 
element with it, which has marred its integrity, or 
vitiated its purity. With it, like God its author, 
there has been no variableness or shadow of a change. 
The world has suffered its boasted classics to be 
blurred, but the Church can rejoice over the fair 
page of her precious books, assured that the far de- 
scent of these venerable treasures has neither altered 
their character, nor changed their identity. These 
divine oracles have come down to us in such unim- 
paired fulness and accuracy, that we are placed as ad- 
vantageously towards them as the generation which 
gazed upon " that book of the law" to which Moses had 
been adding chronicles and statutes for forty years ; 
or those crowds which hung on the lips of Jesus, as he 
recited a parable on the shore of the Galilean lake ; 



18 THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE. 

or those churclies Trhicli received from Paul or Peter 
one of their epistles of warning or exposition. 

And thus shall it continue to be. Divine Truth, 
vhich, at first, when like a little spark, it glimmered 
in the noon of night, many waters could not quench, 
nor floods extinguish, and which every blast of vio- 
lence has only served to fan to a larger flame, so 
that now the world is illuminated by its celestial 
light — that Truth shall never — never expire. It 
shall shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect 
day. All its past history shows that it possesses a 
principle of vitality — a victorious power of its own, 
on which may be grounded the most confident expec- 
tation of its final and universal triumph. How great 
the debt of gratitude, then, which we owe to Him 
who has been, and will be, its conservator and 
defence ! 



"Whence, but from Heaven, could men unskilled in arts, 
In several ages born, in several parts, 
Weave such agreeing truths ? or hovr, or vrhy, 
Should all conspire to cheat us vi^ith a lie : 
Unasked their pains, ungrateful their advice, 
Starving their gain, and martyrdom their price." 

The Bible contains, in all, sixty-six books, by 
forty different writers. These books were written 
amidst the strangest diversity of time, place, and 
condition, — among the sands and cliffs of Arabia, 
the fields and hills of Palestine, in the palaces of 
Babylon, and in the dungeons of Rome. Thej were 
written in very different forms, — in history, biogra- 
phy, parable, letters, proverbs, poems, speeches, — 
and by very different men, kings, shepherds, herds- 
men, vine-dressers, tent-makers, and a physician. 
They were written, moreover, in very different cir- 
cumstances, in various phases of joy, of sorrow, of 
affliction, and of tribulation, and in very distant 
periods, in successive centuries — more than fifteen 
hundred years having intervened between the first 
writer in Genesis, and the last writer in the Apoca- 
lypse. 

Now, in looking at this Book, thus written, with its 
two great divisions, what do we find it to be ? It is 

(19) 



20 THE UNITY OFTHE BIBLE. 

manifestly pervaded by unity. It has, to the fullest 
extent, that necessary condition of any book which 
is to make a deep impression upon the minds and 
hearts of men, ^singleness of purpose, and that pur- 
pose kept in view throughout every page. The Old 
and New Testament are undeniably but different 
transcripts of the great and glorious original. " The 
one is a lock with wards and interstices, and the 
other is the exquisitely-cut key, which, applied to 
the lock, completely unlocks it, and opens a door 
of entrance to the bright vision of light and immor- 
tality. The one is the portrait seen by moonlight, 
the other is the -same portrait seen by sunlight, the 
one hazy and dim, but still real, the other bright and 
illuminated, like a noonday landscape, on which the 
minutest and most majestic features may be read 
and understood by him that runs while he reads." 

It is even so. The Bible is the story of the knit- 
ting anew the broken relations between the Lord 
God and the race of man. It is a record of moral 
ruin and recovery. It is a history and a develop- 
ment of a great plan of salvation conceived in the 
Infinite Mind. It is a narrative of man's spiritual 
position, present condition, and future possibilities, 
as a creature once formed in the image of his Maker, 
and still capable, through proffered strength, of re- 
gaining that similitude. This is the idea which per- 
vades it from its beginning to its end. 

Thus, the Book that was written by persons of so 
widely variant professions, and circumstances, and 



THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE. 21 

idiosyncrasies, and trials, is always consistent with 
itself. Where there was no collusion there is perfect 
harmony; where there was no preconcert there is 
perfect concord. There was one grand key-note 
which the sacred penmen all struck — -Christ, and Him 
crucified. It was with them, as it would be with a 
band of musicians who, without previous arrange- 
ment, should come together, and, with instruments 
already in tune, perform the same anthem without a 
discordant or jarring note; or, they may be com- 
pared to a number of laborers and masons, who have 
no idea of the completed appearance of the edifice 
on which they are employed, but lay stone upon stone 
in blind obedience to the directing architect, until 
the whole stands forth in sublimity and perfection. 

The Book which these inspired men wrote, is evi- 
dently a whole, it has a beginning, a middle, and 
an end, it is the realization of one mind executed by 
a number of others. The same spirit and feeling 
pervade the volume. Its ceremonies and dispensa- 
tions arise naturally from one another. The same 
golden thread is to be seen running through all its 
pages, beginning, as it does, with Paradise which 
was lost, and stretching itself over long ages, and at 
length bringing us back again where we started, to the 
city of God with its Tree of Life. 

Let some evidence of this alleged unity be con- 
sidered. Look at the great facts that are narrated in 
the Scriptures. Of these facts the sacred writers fur- 
nish a perfectly harmonious account. The earliest of 



22 THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE. 

them wrote at a later time than some of these events ; 
some of them wrote after the occurrence of them all ; 
while most of those who wrote subsequently to all, or 
a part of them, make frequent and explicit reference 
to the whole. Whether their statements be more 
or less full, or their references more or less inci- 
dental, there is no positive discrepancy in any of 
them. "David celebrated in poetry what Moses 
records as a historian, while Stephen, and Peter, and 
Paul, urge in argument the same facts that are re- 
corded by the historian's pen, and sung by the pro- 
phet's lyre. The historical parts of the New Testa- 
ment, as well as of the Old, are in perfect coincidence 
with the more didactic and doctrinal parts. The 
Epistles of Paul, so full of minute specifications, so 
replete with allusions to times, places, persons, and 
events, and WTitten with all the freedom of epistolary 
correspondence, and without any regard to the order 
of events, are found to indicate a minute coinci- 
dence with the more extended and exact history given 
by Luke, in the book of the ^ Acts of the Apostles.' " 
So, with the four Evangelists — their statements, 
though at a great remove from studied uniformity, 
are nevertheless, in regard to the great facts on 
which Christianity is founded, perfectly harmonious 
statements. " There is a difierence in the narratives, 
but they differ without being contradictory. One 
gives a more full statement than another; one writes 
in chronological order ; another interweaves facts as 
they suit his purpose, and without regard to date ; 



THE UNITY OP THE BIBLE. 23 

one writes to a different people, and with a different 
object from another, and therefore presents the facts 
with a different phase and complexion; one traces 
the genealogy of the Saviour through the line of 
Mary, and another through the line of Joseph ; one 
specifies a distant ancestor by one name, and another 
by another ; and, on inquiry, it is ascertained that 
he was identified with both. In some of the gene- 
alogical tables any apparent discrepancy that exists, 
arises from the fact that one writer records the 
genealogy according to the HebrcAV usage, reckon- 
ing the descendants by the males only, while another, 
not regarding this genealogical precision, includes 
both the male and female descendants." 

There is also, in the Scriptures, the most perfect 
unity in all their representations of religious trutJi."^ 
Suppose the Bible to be blotted out of existence, and 
some sixty or seventy persons, scattered through differ- 
ent ages of the world, had written on religious sub- 
jects, and their works were comprised in a volume. 
Who does not see that such a work would have been 
the merest theological jargon ! Let the wild and 
incoherent speculations of heathen philosophy, and 
the thousand varieties of pagan religion, give the 
answer to this demand. 

" But while these differences are in fact almost end- 
less, yet it is the great and undeniable characteristic 
of the Scriptures, that all their instructions are in 
perfect harmony. Their great object is to impart 

" " Bible not of Man," by Gardiner Spring, D. D. 



24 THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE. 

the knowledge of trutli. Truth is the great and only 
instrumentality they make use of in order to trans- 
form, purify, and elevate the human character. No 
matter how they teach — whether by history, biogra- 
phy, song, allegory, parable, argument, or dogmatic 
testimony and affirmation — religious truth is so deeply 
and thoroughly interwoven in all they utter, that 
it forms the great and essential element in all their 
instructions. Yet, in all their views, from beginning 
to end, there is the most perfect oneness. No matter 
what the subject of which they treat, all the writers 
speak the same thing. 

"And not only do they all speak the same doctrine, 
but the various doctrines they inculcate all agree 
with each other. They have a mutual dependence 
and connection, they give one another a reciprocal 
support and influence, they grow out of each other, 
and all hang together, alike deriving their ripeness, 
and freshness, and flavor, from the same parent stock. 
Let a diligent student take up a copy of the Scrip- 
tures with copious marginal references, and under- 
take to collate their instructions upon any one doc- 
trine or moral duty, and he will be surprised at the 
uniformity of their teaching. They never speak for, 
and against, the same doctrine, they never bear wit- 
ness on both sides of any question, nor is there an 
instance in which they affirm and deny the same 
thing. That which, in reality, ^has any Scripture in 
its favor, has all Scripture in its favor;' nor is there 
anything in the Bible against it." 



UNITY OF THE BIBLE. 25 

The same thing may be predicated of the Bible 
in relation to the harmony existing between the Old 
and New Testament. They are but different parts 
of one system. Judaism was the stock, gradually 
growing and strengthening, on which the flower of 
Christianity, "in the fulness of time," exhibited its 
bud, and unfolded its leaves, and diffused its life-giv- 
ing fragrance. The one was the dawn, the other is 
the day; the one was the infant, the other is the 
full-grown man. The records of both are the same, 
in authorit}^, substance, and mode of communication. 
The same truth, only not with the same fulness aiid 
clearness, was conveyed in ''sundry times" and 
"divers manners" by the prophets, which was made 
known by the Eternal Word when " He was made 
flesh, and dwelt among us." 

Through the Patriarchal, and the Mosaic, and the 
Prophetical dispensations, the same voice was sound- 
ing, only in more distant and feeble tones, which 
afterwards echoed amongst the hills and valleys of 
Palestine, as it poured forth the truth in all its divine 
plenitude and power. Examine the two economies, 
and you will see that they are substantially the same. 
The infidel may be challenged to specify a single 
moral law, or one principle of truth, contained in the 
writings of Moses and the Prophets, which is not re- 
cognised and honored by having a place in the teach- 
ings of Christ and the Apostles. 

In both the Old and the New Testament, Christ 
is set forth as the burden of the promises, the me- 
3 



26 UNITY OF THE BIBLE. 

dium of blessings, and the object of saving faith. 
The same Sun, both natural and spiritual, which 
now cheers us, hath cheered and enlightened all the 
succeeding generations of the race. Jesus is " the 
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," and 
in His name it is the prophet speaks, where he says, 
" My righteousness shall be for ever, and my salva- 
tion from generation to generation." It was He 
whose day Abraham foresaw, and was glad ; it was 
He whom Jacob predicted as the Shiloh, unto w^hom 
the gathering of the people should be ; it was He to 
whom the Baptist pointed as he approached, saying, 
" Behold the Lamb of God !" and it was He whom 
the banished Apostle saw from the rocky and barren 
isle, "as it were a Lamb in the midst of the 
throne." 

Now, how shall we account for this unity of the 
Bible? Remember what kind of unity it is. "It 
is not," says one,* "that apparent unity which 
might be produced by a language common to all its 
parts, for the deepest possible gulf divides the two 
languages in which the Old and ISTew Testament 
were written. Neither is it a unity produced by 
likeness of form, for the forms are various and di- 
verse as can be conceived ; now song, now history, 
now dialogue, now narrative, now^ familiar letter, 
now prophetic vision. Neither is it a unity such as 
might arise from all the parts of the book being the 

* French-IIulsean Lectures. 



UNITY OF THE BIBLE. 27 

iTpgrowth of a single ago, and so all breathing alike 
the spirit of that age ; for no single age beheld the 
birth of this book, which was well nigh two thousand 
years ere it was fully formed, and had reached its 
final completion. Nor yet can this unity be ac- 
counted for from its having but one class of men for 
its human authors, since men, not of one class alone, 
but of many, and those the widest apart, kings and 
herdsmen, warriors, and fishermen, wise men and 
simple, were employed in writing it. 

The truth is, that deeper than all its outward cir- 
cumstances, and in spite of them all, does the unity 
of the volume lie, since all these circumstances, iu 
their natural operation, would have tended to an 
opposite result. What, then, is this inviolable uni- 
formity which pervades the Scriptures, but one 
among the many indices of their divine origin ? 
How can it, possibly, be otherwise regarded? 



" Father ! that book, 
"With ^vhose Avorn leaves the careless infant plays, 
Must be the Bible. Therein thy dim eyes 
AVill meet a cheering light, and silent words 
Of mercy breathed from Heaven, -will be exhaled 
From the blest page into thy withered heart." 

Queen Elizabeth, -who spent mucli of her time 
in reading the best writings of her own and former 
ages, has left on record the following evidence that 
she did not neglect the Book of God : " I walk many 
times in the pleasant fields of the Holy Scriptures, 
where I pluck the goodlisome herbs of sentences by 
pruning, eat them by reading, digest them by mu- 
sing, and lay them up, at length, in the high seat of 
memory by gathering them together, so that, having 
tasted their sweetness, I may less perceive the bit- 
terness of life." 

I ask attention to the name by which the Queen 
designated the venerable volume. She regarded it 
as consisting of ''pleasant fields." There is impor- 
tant significance in this descriptive phrase. It was 
certainly possible for God to make his revelation to 
the race in such a form that (according to the de- 
mand of the infidel Strauss), '' a man should be able 
to lay his finger upon a precept or a doctrine for 

(28) 



( 



THE FRESHNESS OF THE BIBLE. 29 

each occurring need, and to find in one place, and 
under one head, all which relates to one matter." 
It might have been given to us as a systematic body 
of divinity, or as a statute-book, with a digest and 
index accompanying it, so that in a moment, as it 
were, all might be seen that it contains, touching 
any of its credenda and agenda, or its articles of 
faith, and its rule of practice. 

But, suppose this arrangement had been adopted, 
would it have carried with it any advantage to us ? 
Think for a moment. How much more pleasant is 
it to wander over a broad and beautiful field, with 
its graceful undulations, and its alternate lights and 
shades, and "its freshly growing plants, with the 
dew upon their leaves, and the mould about their 
roots," than to walk in the straight, and hard, and 
level, and narrow path of a garden, which is entirely 
the product of constant labor and forced culture ? 
How much less agreeable to traverse such a confined 
and stiff enclosure, all of which falls under the eye 
at a single glance, leaving no variety to delight, and 
no discoveries to be made as the step advances, than 
to pass over an expanded territory, on which the 
systematizing influence of art has not yet been 
brought to bear, "with heights and valleys, forests 
and streams on the right and left of our path, and 
close about us, full of concealed wonders, and choice 
treasures !" 
"Now, this is the manner in which the Scriptures 
3* 



80 THE FRESHNESS OF THE BIBLE. 

have been given to us, and it is impossible not to 
perceive the wisdom which it indicates. As thus 
before us, these holy oracles constitute an abiding 
stimulus to research, and an unfailing source of va- 
riety and interest. "It is only," says one, "when 
our energies are roused, and our attention awake ; 
when we are acquiring, or correcting, or improving 
our knowledge, that knowledge makes the requisite 
impression upon us. God has not made Scripture 
like a garden, " where the fruits are ripe, and the 
flowers bloom, and all things are fully exposed to 
our view, but like a field, where we have the ground, 
and seed of all precious things, but where nothing 
can be brought to view without our industry," nor 
then, without the dews of heavenly grace. 

" I find in the Bible," says Cecil, " a grand pecu- 
liarity, that seems to say to all who attempt to sys- 
tematize it, I am not of your mind. ... I stand 
alone. The great and the wise shall never exhaust 
my treasures : by figures and parables I will come 
down to the feelings and understandings of the 
ignorant. Leave me as I am, but study me inces- 
santly." 

This is a true view of the Bible. It is so con- 
structed as to develop constantly something new. 
It cannot be disposed of at one reading. It de- 
mands a vigorous exercise of the understanding. 
No man that has ever lived could be said to have 
read it through. Many, indeed, have perused its 



THE FRESHNESS OF THE BIBLE. 31 

pages from beginning to end, but these have always 
been the first to admit that it required, and would 
bear, perusal again and again, and that the more 
men study it, the more they will be amazed at its 
wonderful depth, and attracted with its magnificent 
beauties. 

The learned Le Clerc tells us, that while he was 
compiling his Harmony, he was so struck with admi- 
ration of the excellent discourses of Jesus, and so 
inflamed with the love of his most holy doctrine, 
that he thought that he had but just begun to be ac- 
quainted with what he scarcely ever laid out of his 
hands from infancy. During the time that Dr. 
Kennicott w^as employed on his Polyglot Bible, it 
was the constant office of his wife, in their daily air- 
ings, to read to him those difi"erent portions to which 
his immediate attention was called. When prepa- 
ring for their ride the day after this great work was 
completed, upon her asking him what book she 
would take, "0," exclaimed he, "let us begin the 
Bible !" 

'' The fairest productions of human wit," remarks 
Bishop Home, " after a few perusals, like gathered 
flowers, wither in our hands, and lose their fra- 
grancy, but these unfading plants of Paradise be- 
come, as we are accustomed to them, still more and 
more beautiful; their bloom appears to be doubly 
heightened, fresh odors are emitted, and new sweets 
extracted from them. He who hath once tasted 



82 THE FRESHNESS OF THE BIBLE. 

their excellences, will desire to taste them again, 
and he who tastes them oftenest will relish them 
best." 

*' I know not a better rule of reading the Scrip- 
ture," says John Newton, ",than to read it through 
from beginning to end, and when we have finished 
it once, to begin it again. We shall meet with many 
passages which we can make little improvement of, 
but not so many in the second reading as in the 
first, and fewer in the third than in the second." 

" The Bible," says Cecil, ''resembles an exten- 
sive garden, where there is a vast variety and pro- 
fusion of fruits and flowers, some of which are more 
essential, or more splendid than others ; but there 
is not a blade sufi'ered to grow in it, which has not 
its use and beauty in the system. Salvation for 
sinners is the grand truth presented everywhere, 
and in all points of light ; but the pure in heart sees 
a thousand traits of the Divine character, of himself, 
and of the world; some striking and bold, others 
cast, as it were, into the shade, and designed to be 
searched for and examined." 

"A man's love of Scripture at the beginning of a 
religious course," remarked Dr. Arnold, "is such as 
makes the praise which older Christians give to the 
Bible seem exaggerated ; but, after twenty or thirty 
years of a religious life, such praise always sounds 
inadequate. Its glories seem so much more full 
than they seemed at first." 



THE FEESHNESS OF THE BIBLE. 33 

And this experience of the inexhaustibleness of 
the Bible, let it be noted, was not confined to the per- 
sons just named. Ten thousand times ten thousand 
witnesses there have been, and there are, that the 
love of the sacred volume grows with the perusal, 
and that it affords to the student of its pages ever 
fresh delight. It is not so with other things. Inte- 
rest in them is abated by repetition and familiarity. 
The sweetest song that minstrel ever sang upon 
earth, soon becomes hackneyed, and we get tired of 
it. The richest viands, by becoming common, lose 
their relish. The most beautiful landscape loses its 
power to inspire by being often surveyed. Most 
books we read, even those which are most intensely 
interesting and exciting, will not bear reading more 
than twice or thrice. 

This, however, is not true of the Bible. The 
more we read it, the more we desire to read, and 
the more we find to read. It still has, after assidu- 
ous and repeated perusal, the charm of novelty, like 
the great orb of day, at which we are wont to gaze 
with unabated astonishment from infancy to old age. 
After all our delving, there are yet profounder 
depths to be sounded ; after all our soaring, there 
are still loftier heights to be scaled. The veteran, 
whose v/nitened locks, and wrinkled brow, and 
bended form, indicate that the time of his departure 
must be to him the absorbing theme, turns over the 
pages of this volume with an interest undiminished 



34 THE FRESHNESSOr THE BIBLE. 

by accumulating years. The legate of the skies 
brings forth things new from it, as certainly as he 
did when commencing its exposition fifty years ago. 
The public assembly listens to it, when read, from 
year to year, with eyes fixed, and ear awake ; an 
attention that never tires, and an interest that 
never cloys. " Select, if you can," says Robert 
Hall, " any other composition, and let it be ren- 
dered equally familiar to the mind, and see whe- 
ther it will produce this efi'ect." 



§i\tuu 0f i\it foMt. 

From some men's questions more can be learned 
than from other men's answers. From some men's 
silence more instruction can be derived than from 
other men's speech. Indeed, it has become a pro- 
verb, that it is evidence of wisdom to know when to 
keep quiet. 

" Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread." 

The sciolist, whose pride is as great as his ignorance, 
will express himself freely on subjects on which the 
profound scholar prefers to be mute. The one 
knows, the other does not, that an insufficient expla- 
nation of a difficult thing is worse than none. Many 
a man has lost a cause at the Bar by not submitting 
it without argument to the good sense of the jury. 
Many a physician has lost the confidence of the pub- 
lic by attempting too much, or by showing in his 
talk a want of power of diagnosis, which seasonable 
taciturnity might have concealed. Many a man, in 
entering a gallery of paintings, or sculpture, where 
art has placed its grandest achievements, has be- 
trayed his utter lack of aesthetic cultivation, by a 
boisterous and pretentious manner — the very oppo- 
site of that subdued frame, which such productions 
always generate in those who have taste to appre- 
ciate them. Many a man, by opening his mouth out 

(35) 



36 SILENCE OE THE BIBLE. 

of due time, has sadly changed the impression ^Yhich 
his appearance and mien had previously made. 

It was remarked by a distinguished scholar, in 
speaking of the Bible, that " there is such fulness 
in that book, that oftentimes it says much by saying 
nothing, and not only its expressions, but its silences 
are teaching, like a dial in which the shadow, as well 
as the light, informs us." Beautiful and truthful 
representation ! We are learning, ever learning ; 
not only in the roaring city, but also in the noise- 
less forest ; not only in the excitements of the day, 
but also in the calm midnight-hour; not only in the 
" quiet might" of the beautiful light, but in the thick 
darkness that brings worlds to our view, which, but 
for its gathered curtains, would never have been 
visible at all ; not only in the raging of the storm, but 
also in the hush which precedes it; and not only in 
the brilliant saloon, with its cheerful crowding throng, 
but also in the chamber of death, where the corpse 
of a loved one is lying, with a fixedness that seems 
to mock the agony that has been occasioned by its 
removal. 

Even so are we ever learning from the pages of 
inspiration, not only when we gaze upon the .high 
hills on which Bevelation has poured the effulgence 
of its beams, but also when we stand and look upon 
the valleys, and chasms, and blanks, which have been 
left, and can find no other vehicle for our feelings 
than the words, to which an Apostle himself was 
driven, '' 0, the depth!" 



SILENCE OF THE BIBLE. 3T 

I like tlie assumption or silent recognition of God's 
existence, at the beginning of his record. How wise 
was this, in comparison with what a metaphysical 
proof would have been, of a truth which none but a 
"fool" can deny, and he only "in his heart," as 
what he wishes^ says Lord Bacon, rather than what 
he believes ! I like to read that the Prodigal, though 
he determined, when he was in a far country, to say 
to his father, " Make me as one of thy hired ser- 
vants," yet did not mention his refusal to expect a 
child's portion and place when embraced by his wel- 
coming father. Why? Because, from this apparently 
fortuitous omission, " we may learn wdierein the true 
growth in faith and in humility consists ; how he that 
has grown in these can endure to be fully and freely 
blest ; to accept all even when he most strongly feels 
that he has forfeited all; that only pride and the sur- 
viving workings of self-righteousness and evil stand 
in the way of a reclaiming of every blessing which 
the sinner has lost, but which God is waiting and 
willing to restore." 

I like to sit at the feet of Paul, as he descends 
from the third heavens, and hear him say, he 
heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful or 
not possible for a man to utter. Some might be 
disappointed that he has nothing to communicate, 
but I am not. I like his silence far better than any 
description that could be given. This is, in fact, the 
most animating description that we could receive, 
just as we have the grandest conception of the moun- 
4 



6q silence of the bible. 

tain's loftiness because it is hidden in the clouds. 
" I wish to be defeated in every effort to understand 
futurity. I wish, when I have climbed to the highest 
pinnacle to which thought can soar, to be compelled 
to confess that I have not yet reached the base of 
the everlasting hills. There is something surpassingly 
glorious in this baffling of the imagination. That 
heaven is inconceivable, is the most august, the 
most elevating discovery. It tells me that I have 
not yet the power for enjoying heaven; but this is 
only to tell me that the beholding God ' face to face,' 
the ' being for ever with the Lord,' requires the ex- 
altation of my nature; and I triumph in the assur- 
ance that what is reserved for me pre-supposes my 
vast advancement in the scale of creation." 

If I had been writing a book that I wished to be 
very popular, I should have been careful to do two 
things, or one of them. First, I would have minis- 
tered to human curiosity as much as was in my 
power. I would have made myself acquainted with 
the numerous strange and speculative inquiries which 
men are ever ready to propose, and have answered 
them. Or, if this could not have been done, I would 
not have touched any subject that I could not tho- 
roughly handle and elucidate. But I find no such 
disposition on the part of God's amanuenses. If we 
come to them with profitless questions, the oracle is 
dumb. Neither, on the other hand, do they shun a 
subject, though in presenting it clearly enough to be 
seen, they are to leave much of it in shadow. This 



SILENCE OF THE BIBLE. 39 

independence is very significant. It indicates con- 
scious strength. It is not, as is generally supposed, 
the man who talks much that is independent, but the 
individual who talks little or none. The former 
shows his felt weakness, by reaching out of himself 
by conversation to find some support, — the latter 
indicates, by putting forth no such eifort, that he is 
self-reliant. 

The " holy men of old who spoke" and wrote "as 
they were moved by the Holy Ghost," were not 
afraid to broach a theme, though aware that many 
things concerning it could not be stated. They 
were bold to tell of Lazarus rising, without throwing 
in sketches of his experience " out of the body." In 
this view, if it be necessary for men like ourselves to 
speak that we may know them, it is also true that it 
was necessary for God's prophets, and evangelists, 
and apostles to be, in a great measure, silent, that 
we might know them. Had they undertaken to tell 
us everything, what a different impression would they 
have made ! And how much in harmony with our 
minds have they acted, by revealing to us all we need 
know about duty and destiny, doubtless all they 
knew themselves, and leaving — as we cannot but feel 
they ought to have left — infinitely more for the explo- 
rations, and discoveries, and delights, of the eternal 
future ! 



If a company of men, unpractised in navigation, 
should launch a vessel on a lake or an ocean, and 
shun every reef and shoal, so as to make their voy- 
age in safety, no one would refuse them credit for 
their success. All the more, too, would their achieve- 
ment challenge admiration, if the waters on which 
they embarked had never been explored, if the 
art of sailing were in its infancy, and if, instead of 
all hands starting together at the commencement of 
the voyage, they had come aboard singly, at different 
stages of the progress. 

I can easily conceive that the sacred writers 
might have committed themselves to some theory, or 
system of science, or philosophy, in ignorance or 
error, so as to have been dislodged from their posi- 
tion. I can easily imagine that they had strong 
temptations to wander into the regions of physical 
and metaphysical disquisition. From their intellec- 
tual peculiarities, indeed, as well as the disposition 
which false pretenders to revelation have shown, to 
grasp everything in their alleged inspired capacity, 
there was an a priori probability that they would 
yield themselves to speculations in the various de- 
partments of material and mental investigation. 

(40) 



( 



THE AVOIDANCES OF THE BIBLE. 41 

I find, however, no such tendency indicated by 
them. They show not even a willingness to turn 
aside to entertain, or even to instruct, except for a 
specific purpose. The region of psychology itself is 
entered by theru, only so far as is necessary for the 
attainment of the object with which they feel them- 
selves entrusted. From all they write, it is manifest 
that they have, individually, and without mutual con- 
sultation— " This one thing I do,"— for their motto. 
Always and everywhere they hold fast the spiritual 
idea. No man can read their records without seeing 
that this pervaded them each and all, as the blood, 
starting from a common centre, circulates through 
every portion of the human frame. They aimed to 
make men "wise unto salvation." They had a mis- 
sion to fulfil, they had a task to perform, and they 
never lost sight of it. They turned away from every 
inducement to do so, just as Jesus declined corona- 
tion as an earthly king, and as the Apostles refused 
to be esteemed "gods in the likeness of men," after 
their miracle in Lystra. 

There were storms of discussion raging around 
these devoted men, and there were billows of earnest 
inquiry meeting them at every point with tremendous 
force, but they yielded to neither. They kept their 
vessel moving steadily on, showing that no wind 
could divert it from its chosen channel, nor any 
wave harm it by concussion, and that, with all their 
acknowledged inexperience and apparent weakness, 
4* 



42 THE AVOIDANCES OF THE BIBLE. 

they felt conscious of ability to defy every peril. 
They entered into no entangling alliances. Their 
hands had found something to do, and they were de- 
termined to do it. They felt themselves to be en- 
gaged in a great work, and would not come down to 
foreign and feebler pursuits. 

The inspired penmen avoided extravagance in style. 
Never were events more astonishing than those which 
they recorded, yet they were not carried away with 
any pomp of diction as they related them. There is 
not, perhaps, in the whole gospel, a single artifice to 
call attention to the wonders that are registered. 
Absorbed in their holy task, no alien idea presented 
itself to their mind — the object before them filled it. 
They never digressed, were never called away by the 
solicitations of vanity, or the suggestions of curiosity. 
They left circumstances, as they had occurred, to 
make their own impressions, instead of adding to 
them any reflections of their own. Feeling that the 
ground was holy on which they stood, invariably did 
they preserve the gravity of history and the severity 
of truth, without enlarging the outline or swelling 
the expression. 

They avoided any effort to conceal or extenuate 
each other's infirmities and sins. With an artless- 
ness that could fear no suspicion, and with the can- 
dor which truth ever exhibits, as at once its orna- 
ment and its evidence, they tell us of what Noah, 
and Abraham, and Moses, and David, and Peter did, 



THE AVOIDANCES OF THE BIBLE. 43 

that was wrong, that "he that thinketh he standeth, 
may take heed lest he fall." 

They avoided (what every one, perhaps, wouhl 
have looked for from them,) an explanation of the 
mode of God's existence, as Three in One, and One 
in Three, as well as the hypostatical union,. or the 
union of the Divine nature of Christ with the human, 
and the reconcileableness of foreknowledge or pre- 
destination, with free agency, and other problems 
equally unfathomable. 



€llB ICitBrntur^ nf t^t %i\iU. 

The Christian always adverts with pleasure to the 
judgment which has been passed, in this respect, 
upon the book which he most loves, by men no less 
justly celebrated for their splendid talents and pro- 
found erudition, than for their elevated virtues. 
" There are no songs comparable to the songs of 
Zion — no orations equal to those of the prophets. 
There is no book like it for excellent wisdom, learn- 
ing, and use. It is a matchless volume, and it is 
impossible that we can study it too much, or esteem 
it too highly. It contains more sublimity and beauty 
than could be collected, within the same compass, 
from all other books that were ever composed in any 
age or idiom." 

Such are the opinions, as expressed by themselves, 
of Milton, the immortal poet ; Sir Matthew Hale, the 
Chief Justice of the King's Bench ; the Hon. Robert 
Boyle, who, as a philosopher, is ranked with Bacon 
and Newton; and Sir William Jones, the distin- 
guished philologist and jurist. Tributes of admira- 
tion have also been paid to it by men of distinction 
in the world of mind, whose sentiments cannot be 
suspected to have been moulded or colored by reli- 
gious experience. Bousseau was the representative 
of not a few of this character, with intellects as 

(44) 



J 



THE LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE. 45 

bright, but hearts as hard as a mountain of ice, Tvhen 
the following eulogium (in an honest hour) flowed 
from his pen : — " The majesty of the Scriptures 
strikes me with astonishment. Look at the volumes 
of all the philosophers, with all their pomp, how con- 
temptible do they appear in comparison with this ! 
Is it possible that a book at once so simple and sub- 
lime, can be the work of man?" No respectable 
critic, indeed, from the days of Longinus to our own, 
has been willing to blast his reputation by the denial 
that it towers far above all other productions in the 
high and attractive attributes of thought and style. 
Even the most enthusiastic admirers of the heathen 
classics have conceded their inferiority to it in the 
sublime and beautiful, in the descriptive and pathetic, 
in dignity and simplicity of narrative, in power and 
comprehensiveness, in depth and variety of thought, 
and in purity and elevation of sentiment. 

Nor are these concessions gratuitous, or only 
mainly complimentary, but such as truth and justice 
demand. None of the boasted monuments of human 
wisdom can be compared with this, which has been 
reared by the "Father of lights." Look at its his- 
tory. Where can any other be found of so great 
antiquity, and in which events so remarkable, either 
for their greatness or variety, are recorded with 
equal plainness, faithfulness, and majesty — such as 
the creation, the introduction of evil, moral and 
physical, the origin of the diiBferent languages, the 
beginning of the most ancient nations, and the deluge, 



46 THE LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE. 

"with whicli the present inineralogical and geological 
sti'uctiires of our earth are connected ? Look at its 
specimens of oratory. Where can our eyes fall upon 
a finer piece of pleading than is furnished in the 
speech of Judah to Joseph, when he and his brethren 
had been brought back to Egypt, by the stratagem 
of putting a silver cup into Benjamin's sack ? Or a 
greater display of genuine eloquence than we have 
in the defence of Gamaliel's disciple, as he stood at 
the tribunal of Agrippa, a prisoner in chains, but 
a fearless freeman of the Lord ? 

Look at its laconic maxims, and rules for direction 
in private, social, domestic, and public life. What 
collection of these, not excepting the golden verses 
of Pythagoras themselves, equals the Proverbs of 
Solomon, which Gibbon admitted, display a larger 
compass of thought and experience than he supposed 
to belong either to a Jew or a king ? Look at its 
parables. What could be superior, of this kind, to 
Jotham's of the trees, Nathan's of the ewe-lamb, and 
those which Jesus spake — the picture of the good 
Samaritan, and the description of the unhappy Pro- 
digal — those perfect gems, with their beautiful pro- 
portions and admirable delicacy of truth and color- 
ing — masterpieces, which need no illustration, and 
which additions would only encumber ? Does a 
simple story interest us ? What could be more 
beautiful than that one, bearing the name of the 
youthful Moabitess, in which the widowed distress 
of Naomi, her affectionate concern for her daughters, 



THE LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE. 47 

the reluctant departure of Orpah, the dutiful attach- 
ment of Ruth, and the sorrowful return to Bethle- 
hem, are so touchinglj delineated ? 

As to the incidents of travel, what reader of taste 
and feeling, who has followed the much enduring 
hero of the Odyssey, with growing delight and increas- 
ing sympathy, though in a work of fiction, through 
all his wanderings, can peruse with inferior interest 
the genuine voyages of the Apostle of the Gentiles 
over nearly the same seas ? In regard to the sub- 
lime, both in sentiment and style, what could exceed 
those single strokes of the sacred writers, by which 
the mightiest events are painted, such as — '' Let 
there be light, and there was light ;" " Come down, 
Babylon, and sit in the dust," — or those represent- 
ations by which the perfections and operations of the 
Deity are brought to view — " Great is Jehovah, and 
of great power, his greatness is unsearchable, his 
understanding is infinite, marvellous things doth he, 
w^hich we cannot comprehend ?" And as for poetry, 
where are tragic strains so mournful and tender as the 
lamentations of Jeremiah, or of David over Saul and 
Jonathan ? What could exceed the music of the song 
of Amoz sweeping the chords to the glory of the 
Holy City ? And what, amidst all the effusions of 
Homer himself, can be compared with Ezekiel's pre- 
diction of the destruction of Egypt, or the Psalmist's 
representation of God's ubiquity — "Whither shall I 
go from thy Spirit ? or, whither shall I flee from thy 
presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art 



48 THE LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE. 

there ! If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art 
there ! If I take the wings of the morning and 
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there 
shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall 
hold me." 

The truth is, that the Bible not only contains un- 
equalled specimens of this popular species of compo- 
sition, but it has also rendered important aid in the 
production of those of human origin, which have 
been most universally admired. Shakspeare, Byron, 
and Southey, are not a little indebted to it for some 
of their best scenes and inspirations. And had it 
not been for the sacred associations which it has 
thrown around Zion and Olivet, Siloam, and Cal- 
vary, Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered would not have 
appeared. Neither, without its influences, would 
Paradise Lost have seen the light, or the Night 
Thoughts, the Task, and the Seasons, have been, 
what Montgomery has declared they are, the only 
universally and permanently popular long poems in 
the English language ; for the first three of these, as 
will be recollected, are decidedly religious in their 
character, and the last owes its principal charm to 
the pure and elevated spirit of devotion which it 
occasionally breathes. 

It was at this sacred fountain, mainly, that the 
authors of these celebrated productions had their 
fancy enriched with its brilliant treasures. Here 
Milton received the light which has rendered him 



THE LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE. 49 

superior in majesty of tliouglit, and splendor of ex- 
pression, to earth's brightest luminaries ; here Young 
lit up the fires of his immortal muse ; here Cowper 
learned to anticipate the millenial blessedness ; here 
Thomson derived much of his excellence, especially 
in the preparation of his supremely admirable hymn ; 
and here, it may be added, Pope was taught to write 
of the " Messiah," in a manner which eclipses all 
his original productions, "in combined elevation of 
thought, affluence of imagery, beauty of diction, and 
fervency of spirit." 

Well has it been said, that all the lovers of truth 
and beauty, of ancient song and ancient lore, 
would admire the Bible, and publish its praises 
trumpet-tongued to earth's end, were it not for the 
religious doctrines and the moral duties which it 
inculcates. It is a matchless volume, not only for 
its literary excellence, but also for its sublime 
doctrines and holy precepts. It is man's guide 
to immortality. It is the light which has been 
radiated from the heavenly hills, to make us ac- 
quainted with our Maker and ourselves, to direct 
us in the way of duty, and to point us to a glorious 
destiny. 



" God's cabinet of revealed counsel ^fc is, 
Where weal and vroe, are ordered so 
That every man may know which shall be his ; 
Unless his own mistake, false application make. 
5 



50 THE LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE. 

*' It is the index to eternity. 

He cannot miss of endless bliss, 

That takes this chart to steer by, 

Nor can he be mistook, that speaketh by this book. 

" It is the book of God. What if I should 

Say, God of books, let him that looks 

Angry at that expression, as too bold, 

His thoughts iu silence smother, till he find such another.' 



Patriotism lias in all ages, and by all nations, 
been deemed one of the noblest passions that can 
warm and animate the breast of man. It is a con- 
stituent element in the human constitution. There 
is a principle implanted in us by our Creator which 
prompts us to seek our own safety and happiness. 
But our happiness is inseparably connected with that 
of our family, relations, friends, neighbors, and of 
the whole comm.unity subsisting under the same social 
compact, governed by the same laws and magistrates, 
and having a common interest with ourselves. The 
love of one's country, therefore, is the natural expan- 
sion of self-love — a necessary consequence of the 
wise and rational love which a man owes to himself 
and the individual who is destitute of this affection, 
has crushed the instinct of humanity, and is a rebel 
at once against the dictates of reason and the pre- 
cepts of religion. 

By what means can national prosperity and per- 
petuity be secured ? 

The mere diffusion of hnowledge will not be suffi- 
cient for this purpose. I would not advance a syl- 
lable in disparagement of any efforts to enlighten the 
public mind, but I am thoroughly convinced that the 
adoption of the common school system of instruction 

(51) 



52 THE BIBLE — THE PATKIOT'S BOOK. 

— the extensive and clieap publication of newspapers 
and books — and the multiplication and endowment 
of academies, lyceums, and colleges, cannot, of them- 
selves, secure a nation's freedom, union, and happi- 
ness. The teaching of reason, here, is in harmony 
with the lessons of history. Men, to be good citi- 
zens, must not only know their duty, but be inclined 
to do it. They need more tban light. But there is no 
power in mental cultivation to give this disposition. 
Secular sciences — sucli as that of mecbanics, num- 
bers, and languages — leave tbe conscience untouched, 
and this being the case, no result of this nature can 
be expected from tbem. In all their range, there is 
not a single principle that can connect itself with 
moral feeling, and hence a moral effect from them 
would be an effect without a cause. It would be just 
as natural to look for a knowledge of Botany to grow 
out of a knowledge of Astronomy. 

And where are the nations of Antiquity ! Many 
of them were learned and refined. They are the 
confessed models of genius, and taste, and arts, and 
philosophy. But where are they ? Greece, for in- 
stance, had Athens, with her celebrated schools, and 
her Acropolis, as a grand depository for everything 
the most splendid in painting, sculpture, and archi- 
tecture. She had Corinth, also, where the arts and 
sciences were carried to such perfection, that Cicero 
termed it, '•'totius Grecice lumen.'' But where, I 
ask, is Greece now, with her proud cities ? — Where 
is Borne, too — imperial Borne- — with all her pomp 



THE BIBLE — THE PATRIOT'S BOOK. 53 

and polish — all lier intelligence and power ? '' They 
■were, but they are not" — their glory has departed. 

And why has this been the melancholy doom of 
all these mighty nations ? The reason is at hand : 
the politics they erected and adorned were built 
like Babylon, the capitol of one of the oldest of 
them, with clay hardened only in the sun, which has 
long become a mass of ruin, undistinguished from its 
parent earth. They were w^ithout perpetuity, be- 
cause they were without the essential element of it. 

The case of France may likewise be appropriately 
referred to. Previously to the revolution which, 
during the last century, shook this country to its 
centre, the people were not ignorant. Twenty thou- 
sand persons had been employed in writing books. 
Even in the midst of the most shocking scenes which 
were then exhibited, science was fast advancing. 
La Place was busy with his investigations in Astro- 
nomy, and in the higher branches of Mathematics. 
Chemistry Avas flourishing in the hands of successful 
cultivators — among whom was Lavoisier, who was 
dragged from the laboratory to the guillotine, to die, 
because he was rich. Indeed, all the branches of 
physical, and many other departments of science, 
were rapidly extending themselves. Why, then, was 
there a ^h-eign of terror?'' Why were the founda- 
tions of morality more completely subverted than 
probably ever before in any civilized state ? Why 
did selfishness, avarice, revenge, dishonesty, rapacity, 
malignity, licentiousness, impiety, inhumanity and 
5* 



54 THE BIBLE — THE PATRIOT'S BOOK. 

cruelty, prevail to an extent, of "wliicli the annals of 
the world, perhaps, furnish no parallel ? Why did 
the Goddess of Liberty retire from the throne as the 
Goddess of Reason was elevated to it ? Let the true 
answer to this inquiry be whatever different persons 
may suppose it to be, the proof is still conclusive, 
that more than knowledge is necessary to save a peo- 
ple from the grossest demoralization, from anarchy, 
and from ruin itself. 

The same thing is true in relation to that morality 
which is merely the deduction of human reason. Ex- 
periments have been made of the conservative power 
of systems of this description. Paganism had its 
didactic codes, and they contained much that de- 
serves to be admired. Eut though they themselves 
long continued, they could not prevent a general 
depravity of manners. They stood, but as the sum- 
mit of a rock from the sides of which the vegetable 
mould has fallen, without soil to give root to a prin- 
ciple, or to support the bloom, or feed the fragrance 
of a virtue. Not even the men who prepared them, 
were governed by them in their conduct. Whilst 
they held up the mirror for others, they could not or 
would not see themselves. They were philosophers, 
professed teachers of wisdom; but, ably as they 
could write on duty — well as they could prescribe for 
the public — they were, for their own melioration, 
"physicians of no value." Socrates, himself, who 
has been more panegyrized than any of the rest, has, 
from his habit of interlardino; his conversation with 



THE BIBLE — THE PATEIOT'S BOOK. 55 

profane oaths, and from a visit he made to an Athe- 
nian courtezan, dark shades resting upon his cha- 
racter, which any man of correct ideas of morality 
in our day would be ashamed of, and would expect 
to cover him with disgrace. And, as these codes did 
not operate favorably upon the higher and educated 
classes of society, neither did they, as might readily 
be inferred, improve the lower and illiterate. De- 
generacy still abounded. 

Nor is it strange that such was the case. It is 
by no means difficult to account for the fact, that 
these wise men, whilst they savj ivliat was right, and 
approved it, folloiued that which ivas evil. Still less 
difficulty is there in understanding why it was that 
the people at large were not benefitted by the direc- 
tions vfhich they received. These directions, or pre- 
cepts, had nothing to enforce obedience to them. 
They wanted authority. They were a "dead letter" 
— like Sampson, apparently able to accomplish much, 
but, like this mxighty m.an, when '' shorn of his 
strength." They were regarded as embodying mere 
advice — op)inions of teachers, and nothing but 
opinions - — which every one might listen to or not, 
receive or reject, as it suited their interest, passions, 
principles or humors, without any consciousness of 
violating an obligation ; and hence the consequence 
was, what it ever must be in similar circumstances, 
that they proved not to be of sufficient efficacy to 
counteract the innate propensity of men to evil, and 



66 THE BIBLE — THE PATRIOT'S BOOK. 

to overcome the strong temptations to wliicli they 
were constantly exposed. 

Neither will laws, with whatever wisdom they may 
be framed, insure national perpetuity. This is espe- 
cially true of such a land as ours. Laws, here, are 
but an expression of the popular will — but the index 
and reflection of public sentiment. That which is 
effected in other countries, by gens cVarmes and 
liorse-giiards, is effected amongst us by the power of 
self-government, lodged, for the sake of convenience, 
in the hands of our chosen representatives. The 
laAvs emanate from the people. They do not, there- 
fore, as is easily perceived, communicate a spirit of 
obedience, but depend, for their efficient operation, 
upon the existence of this spirit amongst the larger 
portion of the community over which they extend. 
The public sentiment, then, from which they take 
their character, to be what it ought to be, must be 
acted on by some other influence than can proceed 
from that to which it has given birth. The parent 
must be under some other control than that which 
the child can exert. The lever must have a ful- 
crum on which to rest, as it would move the mighty 
mass from vice to virtue. But what is that other in- 
fluence which is needed ? It must evidently be a more 
powerful one than can be furnished by awe of public 
opinion, or regard for personal honor or character. 
It must be something that takes hold of the public 
conscience — something that makes a stronger appeal 
to fear and hope, than fines, imprisonment, execa- 



THE BIBLE — THE PATRIOT'S BOOK. 57 

tlon, and the desire of present happiness — soraetMng 
that points to an eternity, in which there shall be 
reward or punishment, according to the deeds done 
in the flesh. Let this be wanting, and in the '^ body 
politic," far deeper than the eye of the law can pene- 
trate, humors will gather, which will corrupt and 
ruin the sources of its vitality. Let this be wanting, 
and all laws will be but as green withes with which 
the giant of depravity is bound, that he may break 
them, " as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth 
the fire." 

Where, then, are we to look for a ground of hope, 
that our beloved- country shall not, in the lapse of 
years, share the fate of those nations which have 
started into existence, prospered for a season, and 
then declined and fallen ? I answer, to the Bible. 
The distinguished Perrier, the Prime Minister of 
France, bewildered by the complexity of national 
affairs, and appalled by the refractory and insubor- 
dinate spirit of the people, exclaimed on his death- 
bed : — "France m.ust have- religion." The same 
expression, precisely, may be used to denote the ab- 
solute necessity of the Bible for the prosperity of 
these United States. They must have the Bible — 
the religion of the Bible. This was the opinion of 
the illustrious Washington, as it is declared in his 
Farewell Address, where he remarks that, " of all 
the dispositions and habits which lead to political 
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable 
supports," and then adds, that " whatever may be 



58 THE BIBLE — THE PATBIOT'S BOOK. 

conceded to the influence of refined education on 
minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience 
both forbid us to expect that national morality 
can prevail in exclusion of religious principles." 
Thus thought, also, that elegant scholar, and 
original, profound, and cautious thinker, — Du- 
gald Steivart. "Skepticism," says he, in his '^ Ele- 
ments of the Philosophy of the Human 3Iind," "is 
an evil of the most alarming nature, and as it ex- 
tends in general, not only to religion and morality, 
but in some measure also to politics and the conduct 
of life, it is equally fatal to the comfort of the 
individual, and the improvement of society. Even 
in its most inoffensive form, when it happens to be 
united with a peaceable disposition and a benevolent 
heart, it cannot fail to have the effect of damping 
every active and patriotic exertion." 

And this must be the opinion of every intelligent 
man, after proper reflection. For no where else 
than in this Holy Book can we meet w^ith a correct 
standard of morals, and an adequate sanction for 
their observance. No where else can we learn what 
is right, why it is so, and that we are bound to do 
it. Here, and here alone, have we laws which, in- 
stead of taking cognizance of outward actions only, 
reach into the hidden recesses of the heart, and re- 
quire uprightness of intention and purity of princi- 
ples. Here, and here alone, have we the religion 
revealed to us, which teaches man the importance of 
his character — which presents to us the highest con- 



t 



THE BIBLE — THE PATRIOT'S BOOK. 59 

ceivable motives to justice, to lionesty, to kindness, 
and to the exercise of ail the best feelings of our na- 
ture ; and which, as the discriminating De Tocque- 
ville has remarked, '' is the companion of liberty in 
all its conflicts — the cradle of its infancy, and the 
Divine source of its claims." Above all, here we 
have the voice of the High and Mighty Euler of the 
Universe, whose we are and whom we are bound to 
serve, sounding to us from Sinai with its curse, and 
Calvary with its salvation — that God, whom right- 
eousness alone can please, who punishes communi- 
ties in this world, and individuals in the next ; and 
who, if he speak '' concerning a Nation, to pluck up and 
destroy," will execute the dreadful sentence — how- 
ever wise the counsels — however judicious the plans 
— however vigorous the exertions with which he may 
be opposed. The Bible is our ho'pe. To it, under 
the blessing of its Author, we owe the blessed civil 
institutions under which we live, and the glorious 
freedom which we enjoy ; and on it^ more than all 
other causes combined, their continued existence 
depends. 

" ! be thou still our guardian God ; 
Preserve these States from every foe ; 
From party rage, from scenes of blood, 
From sin, and every cause of wo. 

" Here may the great Redeemer reign, 
Display his grace, and saving power. 
Here liberty and truth maintain, 
Till empires fall to rise no more." 



Socrates is reported to have said, concerning the 
writings of Heraclitus, that so much of them as could 
be understood must be pronounced excellent and ad- 
mirable, and that that portion might be believed to 
be so which could not be understood. It is not by 
the spirit of the ancient sage, that objectors to the 
Sacred Scriptures generally are actuated in their 
opposition. They merely carp at the mysterious and 
obscure parts of the volume. These they isolate as 
much as possible from all its sublime and less ques- 
tionable portions, and then, wresting them from their 
connection, or perverting them to an import alto- 
gether foreign, and surrounding them with the murky 
and distorting atmosphere of hostile matter, pro- 
nounce them rocks of offence. 

In answer to the inquiry — " Do the difficulties or 
mysteries of the Scriptures constitute a valid objec- 
tion to them," I submit the following considerations : 

1. If there had been no difficulties in the^ Bible, 
this fact ivoidd have been urged against it, and ivith 
at least as much fairness and force as the objection 
under review is pressed. It is not true that a docu- 
ment may challenge belief as inspired, because it is 
in part incomprehensible. But it is true, that if a 

(60) 



( 



THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OF THE BIBLE. 61 

document professing to be inspired, and treating of 
subjects which could be proved beforehand to be 
above and beyond the grasp of the human intellect, 
should contain nothing to baffle the understanding, 
this very fact would be proof conclusive that the 
document was not divine in its origin. For example, 
if the Bible should give no account of God, but one, 
in every respect easy and intelligible, Reason, sitting 
in judgment on the alleged Revelation, would decide 
that it wanted the essential evidence of having come 
from above. '' How," she would triumphantly ask^ 
'' can a book be regarded as divine, which brings 
down the infinite to the level of the finite ?" 

2. It belongs to the very idea of a book such as the 
Bible^ tohieli is intended for the development of the 
higher life of every man in the worlds that it should 
have secrets which it never entirely discloses. The 
Bible is not only a book for all men, but it is a book 
for all the life of every man. Hence it follows, as 
every enlightened and honest mind must perceive, 
that it would be fatal to its lasting influence, and to 
the high purposes which it is meant to serve, if any 
one could feel that he had used it up, that he had 
w^orked it through, that he fully understood it, and 
that there was nothing more in it to attract his inte- 
rest, or stimulate his research. 

3. There is mystery in everything. The metaphy- 
sician inquires into the hum^an mind, and the anato- 
mist searches into the veins, and arteries, and joints 
of our physical frame, and they each make many 

6 



62 THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OP THE BIBLE. 

discoveries, but there is a point at wMcli botli are 
baffled, — tlie union of mind and matter, and the 
power of the one over the other. The astronomer 
can calculate with wonderful accuracy the motions 
of the heavenly bodies, but he cannot explain upon 
what all these motions rest. Ask him what the 
quality is, which its discoverer baptized gravitation, 
and he can make no satisfactory reply. Ask him 
why matter should have gravity, and he will answer, 
that it has, is a fact, but why it should have, is a 
mystery. 

So it is ; there are mysteries in everything — mys- 
teries in the blades of grass, in the buzzing insects, 
in the sparkling dew-drops, in the gleaming light- 
ning, in the grains of sand, in every pulsation of the 
heart, and in every faculty of the mind. 

Now, where, I ask, would be the philosophy, where 
would be the reason of the man who would reject 
these several branches of science, because they bring 
him, when legitimately pursued, into a region where 
he must confess himself a little child, and receive the 
facts discovered, unexplained ? And with what pro- 
priety can any one, knowing, as he must, that there 
are many of the works of God whose nature and de- 
sign he cannot understand, and many of the ways 
of God which are "past finding out," — knowing, too, 
that the natural attributes of the Godhead themselves 
are incomprehensible by him — that he cannot con- 
ceive of Power that has no limits, and Knowledge 
that has no bounds, and Presence which is here, and 



THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OF THE BIBLE. 63 

tliere, and everywhere, — with what fairness or con- 
sistency can any such one, knowing all these things 
to be BO, yet believing the truths to which they re- 
late, reject the Bible because some parts of it are 
mysterious ? Why should he expect in the volume 
of written revelation the intelli2;ibleness which he 
looks for in vain in the volume of Natural Theology ? 
I see not, indeed, how it is possible to reject the 
Scriptures on the ground of mysteriousness, without 
being drawn on by the same principle of action, into 
that vacuum in which man can neither swim, nor 
stand, nor fly, — the freezing vacuum of Atheism, for, 
beyond a doubt, the existence of God, which alone 
furnishes an explanation of everything else, is the 
greatest mystery of all. Without it, as a fundamen- 
tal fact, we can understand nothing, and yet it is 
itself encompassed with clouds and obscurity, leading 
us evermore to say, — "Verily, thou art a God that 
hidest thyself, God of Israel, the Saviour." 

4. There exists a necessity for mysteries. It is 
essential to the very idea of a Revelation from God 
to man, that whatever is necessary to salvation, 
should be made known, for otherwise it would fail 
of its purpose. And all such things have been 
plainly revealed in the Bible. There are, however, 
certain things which it is not necessary for us to 
hnoiv^ nor are we asked to know them, but only to 
believe them. It is not necessary that we should 
know the manner of the co-eternal existence of the 
Son with the Father ; or, how the divine and human. 



bi THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OF THE BIBLE, 

natures Tf ere united in Christ ; or, ho^ the Holy Spirit 
proceedeth from the Father and the Son ; or, how 
there can be three persons in one Godhead ; or, what 
shall he the particular nature and constitution of our 
bodies at the resurrection: it is enough that we be- 
lieve these things. And why should we not believe 
them ? I grant that they are mysterious, but it 
must be remembered that mysteries are not contra- 
dictions, but imperfect discoveries, — truths told, told 
distinctly, but not reasoned upon and explained ; 
truths so told that we can boldly say ivliat they are, 
but not so' explained as to enable us to say liow they 
are. And why should not such mysteries be looked 
for, as a necessity growing out of our constitution 
as finite beings ? If a revelation is, as it must be 
admitted to be, a communication from the infinite 
God to finite man, how can it be questioned that 
there must be some point at which the finite under- 
standing will fail to take in that infinite communica- 
tion ; in other words, that there must be some point 
in which the revelation will necessarily cease to be 
explanation, and our views will bo bounded, and 
mystery will commence ? 

Besides, it is perfectly plain to me, that for any 
one to insist upon a Revelation which would not only 
tell us that such and such things are, but also explain 
liow they are, is actually to declare no Revelation to 
be necessary at all, "for if Reason could follow such 
a Revelation, why might she not have risen herself 
to the same reirion to which she has shovfn herself 



1 



THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OF THE BIBLE. 65 

able to follow, and in such a case, which is clearly 
possible, of course there would be no necessity at all 
for the Revelation, for all the topics on which it 
could undertake to give light, were previously within 
Reason's reach." Her power to understand them 
would show that she had power to discover them. 

5. Mysteries serve great inoral purposes. '' Those 
passages," says Boyle, "that are so obscure as to 
teach us nothing else, may at least teach us humility." 
Man fell from happiness by pride through a sense of 
his knowledge, and it is a wholesome discipline of his 
nature to be brought to humility through a sense of 
his ignorance, reverencing those sacred truths which 
he cannot comprehend. Again, mysteries tend to 
create religious awe and reverence. Nothing was 
more reverenced by the Jews in their religion than 
the ark not to be touched, and the holy of holies not 
to be entered ; and never is the sun more gazed upon 
and admired than when it labors under an eclipse. 
Again, mysteries tend to the trial and exercise of 
our faith. In. the Bible there is light enough to en- 
lighten believers, yet obscurity enough to try them ; 
and, on the other hand, there is obscurity enough to 
blind infidels, yet light enough to leave them with- 
out excuse. "The word of God," says an ancient 
writer, "is bread that nourishes some, and a sword 
that pierces others. It is the odor of life to them 
who live by faith, and die sincerely to themselves, 
and it is the odor of death to those who are alienated 
from God, and live shut up in themselves by pride. 
6* 



66 THE MYSTERIOUSNESS OF THE BIELE. 

In it God has so mixed liglit and sliade, that the 
humble and docile find there nothing but truth and 
comfort, whilst the indocile and presumptuous find 
nothing but error and incredulity. All the difficul- 
ties immediately vanish when the mind is cured of 
presumption ; then, according to the rule of Augus- 
tine, we pass over all we do not understand, and are 
edified at what we do understand." So, too, mys- 
teries serve to beget in us a desire for heaven, where 
they will all be cleared up. We are here in a state 
of probation, but, if we are Christians, we shall be 
there in a state of reward ; we are here as sojourners 
only for a time, but we shall be there for ever, where 
darkness will yield to light, and doubt to certainty. 
Now we "walk by faith," then we shall "walk by 
sight." "Now we know in part, and we prophesy in 
part, but when that which is perfect is come, then 
that which is in part shall be done away. Now, we 
see through a glass darkly, but then face to face ; 
now we know in part, but then shall we know even 
as also we are known." 



i 



€^t 38ibh's Sriiimjili nun Itrittinii, 



Every book should be judged by wbat it purports 
to be. It would be unfair to expect from it Avliat it 
does not propose to give. According to tliis rule, a 
man bas no right to look for instruction in natural 
things in the Bible, vvhich claims to be a spiritual 
revelation. But, at the same time, as it professes to 
be an inspired document, and therefore to contain 
nothing but truth, it is just, we admit, to expect that 
any reference which it makes to natural things, will 
be one vfhich may be tested by all scientific dis- 
coveries, and which will prove to be thoroughly con- 
sistent with them. Now, what have been the results 
of the scientific tests w^hich have been applied to the 
Bible ? I answer, that in all cases philosophy has 
proved herself the handmaid of the revelation which 
divulges secrets far beyond her gaze. 

It is so in geology ; for, to say nothing of the fact 
that this science is yet in its infancy, the alleged 
difficulty in reconciling its discoveries with the Mo- 
saic Cosmogony is met (if it need be) by the fact that 
the two first verses of Genesis need not be regarded 
as connected with those that follow, and that whilst 

(67) 



68 TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 

these two verses describe tlie first creation of matter, 
so far as any tiling to the contrary is stated, a million 
of ages may have elapsed between the first creation 
and God's formation of our globe. Nor is this a new 
theory of interpretation framed for an unexpected 
emergency, but one that was maintained by the im- 
mortal Chalmers and others, long before any diffi- 
culty on the subject was supposed to exist. 

It is so in astronomy; for though in darker days it 
was felt necessary by ecclesiastics to set themselves 
against the investigations of the heavenly bodies, yet 
neither then nor since has anything been developed 
in this direction, that conflicts with the testimony of 
Him who sits enthroned ''far above all heavens," 
who ''calleth the stars by their names," and by the 
word of w^hose power "the worlds were made." 

It is so in geography ; for travellers who have 
visited the East, instead of finding anything in those 
countries at variance wdth the usages, and customs, 
and localities which the Bible describes, have de- 
clared that they found it, especially the New Testa- 
ment, the best guide to Palestine, and that by its 
statements they were furnished with better directions 
than they derived from any other source. "As our 
knowledge of nature and her laws has increased," 
says Lieutenant Maury, in his late work on the 
"Physical GeograjDhy of the Sea," "so has our 
knowledge of many passages of the Bible been im- 
proved. The Bible called the earth ' the round 
world,' yet for ages it was the most damnable heresy 



TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 69 

for Christian men to say the world is round ; and, 
finally, sailors circumnavigated the globe, and proved 
the Bible to be right, and saved Christian men of 
science from the stake. And, as for the general 
system of atmospherical circulation, which I have 
been so long endeavoring to describe, the Bible tells 
it all in a single sentence : ' The wind goeth towards the 
South and turneth about into the North, it whirleth 
about continually, and the wind returneth again to 
his circuits.' " Eccles. i. 6. 

Equally marked is the trimnph of the Bible in re- 
lation to various readings. English infidels of the 
last century raised a premature psean over the dis- 
covery and publication of so many various readings. 
They imagined that the popular mind would be rudely 
and thoroughly shaken, that Christianity would be 
placed in imminent peril of extinction, and that the 
Church would be dispersed and ashamed at the sight 
of the tattered shreds of its Magna Cliarta. But 
the result has blasted all their hopes, and the oracles 
of God are found to be preserved in immaculate in- 
tegrity. The storm which shakes the oak only 
loosens the earth around its roots, and its violence 
enables the tree to strike its fibres deeper into the 
soil. 

The same thing is true in relation to antiquarian 
research. All its labors are but cumulative proofs 
of the divinity of the Bible, as ancient cities are dis- 
interred and ancient coins discovered. The great 
blow that the infidel philosophers of Europe predicted 



70 TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 

would be given to revealed religion by disclosures 
from Chinese literature, proved to be nothing when 
a Christian missionary mastered that language, and 
produced a lexicon containing all its words. Equally 
fruitless was the hope that the mysterious zodiac in 
Egypt would throw the world's age far beyond the 
date of the Mosaic chronology. I might also refer to 
the statement made by Sir H. Rawlinson in a lecture 
recently delivered under the auspices of theDirectors 
of the Scriptural Museum, London, that "the cunei- 
form inscriptions, the key to deciphering which has 
only been discovered mthin the last twenty years, 
have brought to light a great variety of Assyrian and 
Babylonian historic records, running contemporane- 
ously w^ith Scripture narrative, and affording innu- 
merable points of contact ; and wherever such con- 
tact occurs, there is always found to be a coincidence 
between the two, showing incontestably the genuine- 
ness and authenticity of Scripture." 

Thus is it true that the Bible has surmounted 
every trial. There gathers around it a dense 
"cloud of witnesses," from the ruins of Nineveh, 
and the valley of the Nile; from the slabs and 
bas-reliefs of Sennacherib, and the tombs and 
monuments of Pharaoh ; from the rolls of Chaldee 
paraphrasts and Syrian versionists ; from the cells 
and libraries of monastic scribes, and the dry and 
dusty labors of scholars and antiquarians. The 
scepticism of history has been silenced by the vivid 
re-productions of the ancient and eastern world. 



TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 71 

And SO will it continue to be. The friends of 
revelation have nothing to fear from any discoveries 
that can be made in the heavens above, or the earth 
beneath, or the waters mider the earth. Geology 
may dive and delve into our globe's deepest recesses, 
and astronomy may move along her star-paved way 
until we are dizzied at the story of her ascents ; but 
they can bring back no report which will shake the 
pillars of the "sure word of prophecy." '.'Let 
science perfect yet more her telescopes, and make 
taller her observatories, and deeper her mines, and 
more searching her crucibles ; let even a new Cuvier 
and another Newton arise, to carry far higher, and 
to sink far deeper than it has ever yet been, the line 
of human research ; and yet will not all this, even 
though the new masters of physical lore should blas- 
pheme where the older teachers may have adored, 
bring God into contradiction with himself, or subvert 
the truth which he has given, or eclipse the light 
which shineth in this dark place." Still will it be 
true, however boldly it may be alleged that Jehovah's 
works conflict with his word, that the higher deduc- 
tions of reason harmonize with moral truth ; and soon 
in the blended radiance of science and the wonderful 
testimonies of the Lord, shall nothing be left for 
their mutual friends to deplore, but the long want of 
that wise, confiding patience, and that candid forbear- 
ance, which would have hastened their union and 
added to their lustre. 



72 TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 

The following interesting letter on Science and 
Revelation,!^ from tlie pen of an author just quoted, 
acknowledged on all sides as one of the most emi- 
nent scientific men living. 

" Obseryatory, "Washington, January 22, 1855. 

"My Dear Sir — Your letter revived very pleasant 
remembrances. * 'i' * Your questions are themes. 
It would require volumes to contain the answers to 
them. You ask about the ' Harmony of Science and 
Revelation,' and wish to know if I find 'distinct 
traces in the Old Testament of scientifie knoivledge,' 
and ' in the Bible any knoivledge of the winds and 
ocean currents.'' Yes, knowledge the most correct 
and valuable. 

'' ' Canst thou bind the sweet influences of 
Pleiades?' 

"It is a curious fact that the revelations of science 
have led astronomers of our own day to the discovery 
that the sun is not the dead centre of motion, around 
which comets sweep and planets whirl ; but that it, 
with its splendid retinue of worlds and satellites, is 
revolving through the realms of space, at the rate of 
millions of miles in a year, and in obedience to some 
influence situated precisely in the direction of the 
star Alcyon, one of the Pleiades. We do not know 
how far off in the immensities of space that centre 
of revolving cycles and epicycles may be ; nor have 
our oldest observers or nicest instruments been able 



\ 



TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 73 

to tell US how far off in the skies that beautiful clus- 
ter of stars is hung, whose influences man can never 
bind. In this question alone, and the answer to it, 
is involved both the recognition and exposition of the 
whole theory of gravitation. 

" Science taught that the world was round ; but 
potentates pronounced the belief heretical, notwith- 
standing the Psalmist, while apostrophizing the works 
of creation in one of his sublime moods of inspiration, 
when prophets spake as they were moved, had called 
the world the ' round world,' and bade it to rejoice. 

" You recollect when Galileo was in prison, a 
pump-maker came to him with his difiiculties because 
his pump would not lift water higher than thirty-two 
feet. The old philosopher thought it was because 
the atmosphere would not press the water up any 
higher ; but the hand of persecution was upon him, 
and he was afraid to say the air had weight. Now, 
had he looked to the science of the Bible, he would 
have discovered that the 'perfect' man of Uz, moved 
by revelation, had proclaimed the fact thousands of 
years before. ' He maketh the weight for the wind.' 
Job is very learned, and his speeches abound in 
scientific lore. The persecutors of the old astrono- 
mer also would have been wiser, and far more just, had 
they paid more attention to this wonderful book, for 
there they would have learned that ' He stretcheth 
out the North over the emipty place, and hangeth the 
earth upon nothing.* 

" Here is another proof that Job was familiar with 
7 



74 TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 

the laws of gravitation, for he knew how the world 
was held in its place ; and as for the ' empty place' 
in the sky, Sir John Herschel has been sounding the 
heavens with his powerful telescope, and guaging 
the stars, and where do you think he finds the most 
barren part — the empty places — of the sky ? In the 
North, precisely where Job told Bildad, the Shuhite, 
the empty place was stretched out. It is there where 
comets most delight to roam, and hide themselves in 
emptiness. 

*' I pass by the history of creation as it is written 
on the tablet of the rock and in the Book of Revela- 
tion, because the question has been discussed so much 
and so often, that you, no doubt, are familiar with the 
whole subject. In both, the order of creation is the 
same, first the plants to afford sustenance, and then 
the animals, the chief point of apparent difference 
being as to the duration of the period between the 
'evening and morning.' 'A thousand years as one 
day,' and the Mosaic account affords evidence itself 
that the term day, as there used, is not that which 
comprehends our twenty -four hours. It was a day 
that had its evening and morning before the sun was 
made. 

" I will, however, before proceeding further, ask 
pardon for mentioning a rule of conduct which I 
have adopted, in order to make progress with these 
physical researches which have occupied so much of 
my time and many of my thoughts, and that rule is 
never to forget who is the Author of the great volume 



TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 75 

whicli nature spreads out before us, and always to 
remember that the same Being is also the author of 
the book which Revelation holds up to us ; and though 
the two works are entirely different, their records are 
equally true, and when they bear upon the same 
point, as now and then they do, it is as impossible that 
they should contradict each other, as it is that either 
should contradict itself. If the two cannot be recon- 
ciled, the fault is ours, and is because, in our blind- 
ness and weakness, we have not been able to inter- 
pret aright either the one or the other, or both. 

" Solomon, in a single verse, describes the circular 
tion of the atmosphere as actual observation is now 
showing it to be. That it has its laws, and is as obe- 
dient to order as the heavenly host in their move- 
ment, we infer from the fact announced by him, and 
which contains the essence of volumes by other men, 
' All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea is not 
full : unto the place from whence the rivers come, 
thither they return again.' 

'■' To investigate the laws vfhich govern the winds 
and rule the sea, is one of the most profitable and 
beautiful occupations that a man, an improving, pro- 
gressive man, can have. Decked with stars as the 
sky is, the field of astronomy affords no subjects of 
contemplation more ennobling, more sublime, or more 
profitable, than those which we may find in the air 
and the sea. 

" When we regard them from certain points of 
view, they present the appearance of wayward things, 



76 TRIUMPH OF BIBLE OVER SCRUTINY. 

obedient to no law, but fickle in their movements, 
and subject only to cbance. 

" Yet, wHen we go as truth-loving, knowledge-seek- 
ing explorers, and knock at their secret chambers, 
and -devoutly ask what are the laws which govern 
them, we are taught in terms the most impressive, 
that when the morning stars sang together, the waves 
also lifted up their voice, and the winds, too, joined 
in the almighty anthem. And, as discovery advances, 
we find the marks of order in the sea and in the air, 
that is in tune with the music of the spheres, and the 
conviction is forced upon us that the laws of all are 
nothing else but perfect harmony. 

" Yours respectfully, 

'' M. F. Maury, 
" Lieutenant, United States Kamj." 



The Scriptures were originally written upon rolls 
of parchment, similar, probably, to those which are 
to be seen in the holy-place of Jewish synagogues at 
the present day. These manuscripts were copied 
with the utmost care. Many versions of them were 
made from the original Hebrew and Greek into 
other tongues. The various manuscripts which have 
come down to the present day, all agree essentially 
in their contents. This is admitted both by believers 
and unbelievers. 

By whom, and at what time, Christianity was first 
introduced into the British Isles, cannot now be as- 
certained with any degree of precision. It is cer- 
tain, however, that many manuscript copies of the 
Scriptures, or parts of Scripture, in the Saxon 
tongue, existed at a very early date. One translation 
of the Psalms is ascribed to King Alfred. For 
several centuries after this, the general reading of 
the Bible was prohibited by the Papal See, whose 
supremacy was then felt and acknowledged. 

The first translations of the Bible into English 
were previous to the invention of printing. They 
were the result of incalculable labor, and expense 
of time. Transcripts were obtained with great diffi- 
culty, and being rare, were purchased at a price 
7* (77) 



78 THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 

whicli seems t9 us incredible. The monks Tvho em- 
ployed their time, in lone seclusion, in executing 
these beautiful manuscript copies of the Word of 
God, knew not for what vast and glorious results 
they were laboring : — like the electric chain, uncon- 
scious itself of the tremendous power it is transmit- 
ting to others. 

The first person who conceived the idea of giving 
to his countrymen the whole Bible in the English 
tongue, was the illustrious Reformer, John "Wickliife. 
With the assistance of the ripest scholars among his 
followers, he completed a translation of the Old and 
New Testaments in the year 1384. This version was 
not made from the original Hebrew and Greek Scrip- 
tures, of which no copies existed at that time in 
Western Europe, but from the Latin Yulgate, the 
celebrated translation made by Jerome in the fourth 
century of the Christian era. Eor a period of a hun- 
dred and thirty years, Wickliffe's translation was the 
only one in the English language. No book, before 
the invention of printing, ever had such facilities for 
wide circulation. It was at once put into the hands 
of the itinerant preachers, who, under the auspices 
of Wickliffe, had traversed every part of England, 
and were fully acquainted with the wants of the 
population. When first sent abroad, moreover, it 
enjoyed the favor of Ann of Bohemia, the accom- 
plished wife of Richard IL, who was herself a de- 
cided student of the Scriptures. Nearly twenty 
years elapsed before its progress was materially 



THEENGLISHBIBLE. 79 

checked by persecution. The character of this 
version furnished, for all time, the type and pattern 
of the English Bible. Its homely and childlike 
phraseology became consecrated in the English mind 
as the appropriate medium of inspiration. The sub- 
sequent versions which have found favor with the 
common people, have been the offshoots of this parent 
stock. Whatever improvements they may have re- 
ceived, they are in all essential points but repro- 
ductions of that which was translated into English 
— but not printed — in the fourteenth century, by 
Wickliffe. 

The next attempt at English translation was the 
version of the New Testament by William Tindal, 
sometimes printed Tyndale. The day had begun to 
dawn. It was not in the power of man to roll back 
the " living wheels" which the prophet saw. A child 
may put in motion the nicely-poised rocking stone, 
but the arm of a giant cannot stay it. The art of 
printing was invented. The Reformation had com- 
menced, and Europe was beginning to shake with 
the volcanic fires which were rumbling beneath her. 
Already had Luther begun to give his German Bible 
to his countrymen, when Tindal^ who had been 
forced to leave his own country by persecution, was 
led to translate the New Testament into English from 
the original Greek, and publish it in Holland for the 
benefit of the English nation. In this undertaking 
he was assisted by the learned John Fryth, and a 
friar called William Roye, both of whom afterwards 



80 THE ENGLISH BIBLE, 

suffered death as heretics. The work appeared in the 
year 1526, and makes the first printed edition of any 
part of the Bible in the English language. In the same 
year, Cardinal Wolsey and the bishops consulted to- 
gether on the subject of the translation, and pub- 
lished a prohibition against it in all their dioceses, 
charging it with false and heretical glosses, wickedly 
brought in to corrupt the Word of God. Still many 
copies continued to make their way into the country; 
whereupon, to enforce the prohibition, Tonstal, bishop 
of London, bought up all the copies he could find, 
and committed them to the flames at St. Paul's Cross. 
This had a hateful appearance to the people, and 
only led them to look after the Scriptures more 
earnestly than before. Several other editions of this 
translation were published in Holland, before the 
year 1530, and found a ready sale. In that year a 
royal proclamation was issued, for totally suppress- 
ing the translation of the Scriptures, " corrujjted by 
William Tindal." The king, it was said, would, at 
a suitable time, provide a fair and learned transla- 
tion for the use of the nation, if it should be con- 
sidered expedient. All this while Tindal had been 
going forward with the work of translating the Old 
Testament, and this same year accordingly, (1530), 
appeared his edition of the five books of Moses. He 
afterwards translated all the historical books, besides 
revising and correcting his translation of the New 
Testament. In 1531, through the influence of his 
enemies in England, he was seized and imprisoned 



THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 

at Yillefortj near Brussels, and after a confinement 
of years, lie was condemned to death by the empe- 
ror's decree, in an Assembly at Augsburgh, in con- 
sequence of which he was strangled, and had his 
body afterwards reduced to ashes. His dying prayer, 
repeated with much earnestness, was, "Lord, open 
the king of England's eyes." 

In the year 1535, appeared the Bible of 3Iiles 
Coverdale, the first printed edition of the entire 
Scriptures in the English language. This was dedi- 
cated to the king, Henry YIIL, and seems to have 
been substantially Tindal's translation, as far as he 
had gone, filled out by his friend Coverdale himself, 
with what was wanted to make up a version of the 
whole Bible. It was called, however, a " special 
translation," and did not agree altogether with Tin- 
dal's, and besides, it omitted Tindal's prefaces and 
notes, which had been offensive to many. It was 
probably published at Zurich, in Switzerland, and on 
the last page were the words : — 

a Printed in the yeare of our Lorde^ 1535, and 
fynislied thefourtli day of October.'' 

After this, versions of the Scriptures were multi- 
plied. 

There was Taverners Bible, which was little more 
than a revision of Tindal. In 1540, a reprint of 
Tindal's whole Bible was published by Archbishop 
Cranmer. In 1558, the G-eneva Bible made its ap- 
pearance, which w^as the work of the English exiles 
who had taken refuo-e in Switzerland from the reli- 



82 THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 

gious persecutions in their own country, and "which 
was highly valued among the Puritans, chiefly, per- 
haps, on account of the brief annotations that went 
along with it, which came all of the Calvinistic 
school. 

In 1568, Archbishop Parker, by royal command, 
undertook to form, with the help of several learned 
men, chiefly bishops, a version of the ''''G-reat BihU^'' 
which had been published, in 1539, for the use of the 
Church, so as to have a copy free from the popish 
charge of being a false translation. This was called, 
for distinction, the Bishops Bible. 

The Douay Bible was translated by several Eng- 
lish Catholics, who had once been connected with the 
University of Oxford, but who, on the accession of 
Elizabeth to the English throne, had fled to the Con- 
tinent, and found refuge in the Romish seminaries 
of Douay and Rheims. The !N'ew Testament, in this 
version, was published in 1582, and the Old Testa- 
ment in 1610. It was made from the Latin Yulgate, 
in preference to the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures. 
But as yet there was no common standard. To other 
times was reserved the emission of that version of 
the Sacred Text which we now possess, which gene- 
rally passes by the name of King James's Bible, dur- 
ing whose reign, and at whose instance, the trans- 
lation was undertaken, and to whom it is dedicated ; 
and which, we believe, is destined to stand to the 
end of time, as one of the most splendid monuments 
of scholarship and success the world has ever seen. 



I 



THE ENGLISH BIBLE.' 83 

James came to the throne in 1603. As com- 
plaints abounded on the subject of religion, a con- 
ference was held at Hampton Court the following 
year, for the purpose of settling the order and peace 
of the Church. Here a number of objections were 
urged against the translations of the Bible then in 
use, and the result was a determination on the part 
of his majesty to have a new version made, such as 
might be worthy to be established as the uniform text 
of the nation. Fifty-four learned and pious men were 
accordingly appointed to perform the important ser- 
vice, who were to be divided into six separate classes, 
and to have the Bible distributed in parts according 
to this division, that every class might have its own 
parcel to translate, at a particular place by itself. 
In every company, each single individual was re- 
quired first to translate the entire portion assigned 
to that company, then they were to compare these 
versions together, and, on consultation, unite in one 
text the common judgmaent of all, after which, the 
several companies were to communicate their parts 
each one to all the rest, that in the end the entire 
w^ork might have the consent and approbation of the 
whole number of translators together. In addition 
to this, an order was issued by the king, making it 
incumbent on all the bishops in the land, to inform 
of all such learned men within their several dioceses, 
as having special skill in the Hebrew and Greek 
tongues, had taken pains in their private studies to 
understand and elucidate diiOficult passages in the 



84 THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 

Scriptures, and to charge tliem to send in their obser- 
vations as thej might see fit, for the use of the regu- 
lar translators ; so as to bring, as it were, all the learn- 
ins: of the kino-dom, so far as it could be of avail in 
the case, to bear on the great and notable under- 
taking that was now to be' commenced. 

Some delay occurred in entering upon the busi- 
ness, so that it was not fairly begun before the year 
1607, and before this time seven of the persons first 
nominated were either dead or had declined acting, 
so as to leave but forty-seven for carrying on the 
translation. Ten of these met at Westminster, and 
had the Pentateuch, with the historical books that 
follow from Joshua to the end of the second book of 
Kings, for their portion. Eight more, at Cambridge, 
had charge of the rest of the historical books, to- 
gether w^ith Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Canticles, and 
Ecclesiastes. At Oxford, one company of seven 
had the Prophets assigned to them, and another com- 
pany of eight, at the same place, were intrusted with 
the four gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the 
Apocalypse. There was a second company also at 
Westminster, that had in charge the rest of the New 
Testament ; and, finally, a second company at Cam^ 
bridge, consisting of seven, to which was allotted the 
books of the Apocrypha — a part which it would 
have been better not to have associated in this way 
at all with a solemn translation of the true and pro- 
per Word of God. 

The translators received certain general instruc- 
tions from the king, to regulate them in their work. 



THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 85 

They were required by these to go by the " Bishops' 
Bible," as much as the original would allow, to re- 
tain proper names in their usual form ; to keep the 
old ecclesiastical terms ; out of different significations 
belonging to a word, and equally suitable to the con- 
text, to choose that most commonly used by the best 
ancient fathers ; to abide by the standing division of 
chapters and verses ; to use no marginal notes, un- 
less to explain particular Hebrew or Greek words ; 
to employ references to parallel places, so far as 
might seem desirable. If any one company should 
differ from another, in reviewing its part of the trans- 
lation, about the sense of any passages, notice was 
to be returned of the disagreement and its reasons ; 
and if this should not induce a change of views on 
the other side, the whole was to be referred for ulti- 
mate decision to a general meeting of the chief per- 
sons of each company, to be held at the end of the 
work. In cases of special obscurity, letters might 
be sent to any learned man in the kingdom, by 
authority, for his opinion. 

Nearly three years were occupied with the work — 
a period that seemed long to the impatience of many 
at the time, and was made the occasion of charging 
these good men with negligence and sloth ; but not 
too great certainly ' for the solemn nature of the ser- 
vice itself, and the deeply interesting bearings it was 
destined to have on the history of the Church in 
coming years. Ten years of so many lives thus em- 
ployed had not been too much to expend, for an 
object so vastly momentous as the formation of a 



86 THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 

version, b}^ wlilcli so many millions of people speak- 
ing the English language were to be instructed in 
the will of God, to the end of time. The work be- 
came complete in the year 1610. 

The translations of the Bible, then, may be thus 
summarily stated : — It was translated by Wickliife, 
in 1384; by Tindal, in 1530; by Coverdale, in 1535; 
by Cranmer, in 1539; at Geneva, in 1560; by the 
bishops, in 1568; and by the celebrated authorized 
translators, as they are called, the most accomplished 
scholars and eminent divines of their day, in the 
year 1610.* 

The first Bible printed on the continent of Ame- 
rica was in native Indian — the New Testament in 
1661, and the Old in 1663, both by Rev. John 
Eliot. They were published in Cambridge, Mass. 
The second was in German, a quarto edition, pub- 
lished at Germantown, near Philadelphia, by Chris- 
topher Sower, in 1676. The first American edition 
of the Bible in English was printed by Kneeland 
and Green, at Boston, in 1772, in small quarto, 700 
or 800 copies. The next edition was by Robert 
Aitken, of Philadelphia, in 1781-2. He sent a me- 
morial to Congress — praying for their patronage. 
His memorial was referred to a committee, who ob- 
tained the opinion of the chaplains of Congress as to 
its general typographical accuracy, and thereupon a 
resolution was passed (Sep. 12, 1782) recommending 

■^ We have drawn this chapter from several reliable sources, 
to vrhich we here make a general acknowledgment of indebted- 
ness. 



THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 87 

this edition of the Bible to the people of the United 
States. 

It is admitted on all hands that the received 
English version of the Bible far excels every other 
translation. If accuracy, fidelity, and the strict- 
est attention to the text, says Dr. Geddes, be 
supposed to constitute the qualities of an excellent 
version, this, of all versions, must, in general, be ac- 
counted the most excellent. Every sentence, every 
word, every syllable, every letter, and every point, seem 
to have been weighed with the nicest exactitude, and 
expressed either in the text or in the m^argin, with the 
greatest precision. There is no book, says the 
illustrious Selden, so translated as the Bible for 
the purpose. If I translate a French book into 
English, I turn it into English phrase, not French 
English. II fait f void ; I say His cold, not, makes 
cold. But the Bible is rather translated into Eng- 
lish words than into English phrase. The Hebra- 
isms are kept, and the phrase of that language is 
kept. The style of our present version, saj^s 
Bishop Middleton, is incomparably superior to any- 
thing which might be expected from the finical and 
perverted taste of our own age. It is simple, it is 
harmonious, it is energetic, and, which is of no small 
importance, use has made it familiar, and time has 
rendered it sacred. Bishop Lowth himself, whose 
literary taste is known to have been of the most pure 
and classical order, has not hesitated to pronounce 
it '^the best standard of our language." Bishop 



88 THE E^^aLISH BIBLE. 

Horsley represents it to have been tlie means of en- 
riching and adorning the English tongue, by its close 
adherence to the Hebrew idiom. ' And Dr. Clarke, 
author of the Commentary on the Bible^ says : — 
Those who have compared most of the European 
translations with the original, have not scrupled to 
say, that the English translation of the Bible, made 
under the direction of King James the First, is the 
most accurate and faithful of the whole. Nor is this 
its only praise: the translators have seized the very 
spirit and soul of the original, and expressed this 
almost everywhere with pathos and energy. They 
have, also, not only made a standard translation j but 
they have made their translation the standard of our 
language. 

While, therefore, we would most earnestly en- 
courage every effort, on the part of all who have it in 
their povrer to prosecute the study of the Scriptures 
in their original tongues,-— while we feel that the 
Church has a right to expect this of those who are 
set for the defence of the gospel, we are very sure, 
that the result of all such investigations will be to 
heighten confidence in the present version, and fill 
the heart with unfeigned gratitude to God, for that 
blessed book which we now enjoyj and, which, for 
nearly two centuries and a half, has been pouring 
its light and consolation wherever the English tongue 
is spoken. Let science toil, and diligence labor in 
original investigation — for the Hebrew Scriptures 
are a mine of solid and inexhaustible gold, where 



THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 89 

giants may dig for ages — let literature hold up her 
torch, and cast all possible light upon the sacred 
text, but we must and ever shall deprecate any wan- 
ton attacks upon our received version — any gratuit- 
ous attempts to supersede it by a new and different 
translation. It is the Bible which our godly fathers 
have read, and over which they have wept and prayed. 
It is the GOOD OLD English Bible, with which are 
associated all our earliest recollections of religion. 
As such let it go down unchanged to the latest pos- 
terity. Let us give it in charge to coming genera- 
tions, and bid them welcome to all the blessings it 
has conveyed to us. Let it be our fervent prayer, 
that the light of the resurrection morning may shine 
on the very book which we now read, — that we may 
then behold again the familiar face of our own Bible, 
the very same which we read in our childhood. 

ANCIENT DIVISIONS AND ORDER OF THE BIBLE. 

After the return of the Jews from the Babylonish 
captivity, Ezra collected as many copies as he could 
of the sacred writings, and out of them all prepared 
a correct edition, arranging the several books in their 
proper order. These books he divided into three 
parts : L The Law. 11. The Prophets. III. The 
Hagiographa, i. e., The Holy Writings. 

I. The law contains, 1. Genesis ; 2. Exodus ; 
3. Leviticus ; 4. Numbers ; 5. Deuteronomy. 

II. The writings of the Prophets are : — 1. Joshua ; 
2. Judges, with Ruth ; 3. Samuel ; 4. Kings ; 5. Isa- 



00 THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 

iah ; 6. Jeremiah, with his Lamentations ; 7. Eze- 
kiel ; 8. Daniel ; 9. The twelve minor prophets ; 
10. Job; 11. Ezra; 12. Nehemiah ; 13. Esther. 

III. The Hagiographa consist of ; — 1. The Psalms; 
2. The Proverbs; 3. Ecclesiastes ; 4. The Song of 
Solomon. 

This division was made for the sake of reducing 
the number of the sacred books to the number of the 
letters in their alphabet, which amount to twenty- 
two. Afterwards the Jews reckoned twentj-four 
books in their canon of Scripture, in disposing of 
which the law stood as in the former division, and 
the prophets were distributed into former and lat- 
ter : the former prophets are Joshua, Judges, Sa- 
muel, and Kings ; the latter prophets are Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets ; 
and the Hagiographa consist of the Psalms, the Pro- 
verbs, Job, the Song of Solomon, Ruth, the Lamen- 
tations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, the Chro- 
nicles. Under the name of Ezra they comprehend 
Nehemiah. This order has not always been ob- 
served, but the variations from it are of no moment. 
The five books of the law are divided into fifty-four 
sections. This division many of the Jews hold to 
have been appointed by Moses himself, but others, 
with more probability, ascribe it to Ezra. The de- 
sign of this division was, that one of these sections 
might be read in their synagogues ever}^ Sabbath- 
day : the number was fifty-four, because, in their in- 
tercalated years, a month being then added, there 



THE ENGLISH BIBLE, 91 

were fifty-four Sabbaths : in other years they re- 
duced them to fifty-two, by twice joining together 
two short sections. 

MODERN DIVISIONS OF THE BIBLE. 

The division of the Scriptures into chapters, as we 
at present have them, is of modern date. Some 
attribute it to Stephen Langton, archbishop of Can- 
terbury, in the reigns of John and Henry III., but 
the true author of the invention was Hugo de Sancto 
Caro, commonly called Hugo Cardinalis, because he 
was the first Dominican that ever was raised to the 
degree of cardinal. This Hugo flourished about 
A. D. 1240 : he wrote a comment on the Scriptures, 
and projected the first concordance, which is that of 
the vulgar Latin Bible. The aim of this work being 
for the more easy finding out of any word or passage 
in the Scriptures, he found it necessary to divide the 
book into sections, and the sections into subdivisions, 
for till that time the vulgar Latin Bibles were with- 
out any division at all. These sections are the chap- 
ters into W'hich the Bible has ever since been divided, 
but the subdivision of the chapters w^as not then into 
verses, as it is now. Hugo's method of subdividing 
them was by the letters. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, placed 
in the margin, at an equal distance from each other^ 
according to the length of the chapters. 

The subdivision of the chapters into verses, as they 
now stand in our Bibles, had its origin from a fa- 
mous Jewish rabbi, named Mordecai Nathan, about 
1445. This rabbi, in imitation of Hugo Cardinalis, 



92 THE ENGLISH BIBLE. 

drew up a concordance to the Hebrew Bible, for the 
use of the Jews. But thouo;h he followed Husco in 
Ills division of the books into chapters, he refined upon 
his inventions as to the subdivision, and contrived 
that by verses. This being found to be a much more 
convenient method, it has been ever since followed. 
And thus, as the Jews borrowed the division of the 
books of the Holy Scriptures into chapters from the 
Christians, in like manner the Christians borrowed 
that of the chapters into verses from the Jews. The 
present order of the several books is almost the same 
(the Apocrypha excepted) as that made by the coun- 
cil of Trent. 

The division into verses, though very convenient, 
is not to govern the sense, and there are several in- 
stances in which the sense is injured, if not destroyed, 
by an improper division. Very often the chapter 
breaks off in the midst of a narrative, and if the 
reader stops because the chapter ends, he loses the 
connection, as for example, Matt. x. 42. Some- 
times the break is altogether in the wrong place, and 
separates two sentences which must be taken to- 
gether in order to be understood, as, for example, 
1 Cor. xii. 31. xiii. 1. Again, the verses often di- 
vide a sentence into two different paragraphs, when 
there ought scarcely to be a comma between them, 
as in Luke iii. 21, 22. And sometimes a fragment 
of a subject is separated from its proper place, and 
put where it is without any connection, (Coloss. iii. 
25. iv. 1.) The punctuation of the Bible was pro- 
bably introduced as lately as the ninth century. 



A SOCIETY of gentlemen in England, most of 
whom had enjoyed a liberal education, and were 
persons of polished manners, but had unhappily im- 
bibed infidel principles, used to assemble at each 
other's houses for the purpose of ridiculing the 
Scriptures, and hardening one another in their un- 
belief. At last, they unanimously formed a resolu- 
tion solemnly to burn the Bible, and so to be trou- 
bled no more with a book which Avas so hostile to 
their principles, and disquieting to their consciences. 
The day fixed upon arrived, a large fire was pre- 
pared, a Bible w^as laid on the table, and a flowing 
bowl ready to drink its dirge. For the execution 
of their plans they fixed upon a young gentleman 
of high birth, brilliant vivacity, and elegance of 
manners. He undertook the task ; and, after a few 
enlivening glasses, amidst the applauses of his jovial 
compeers, he approached the table, took up the 
Bible, and was walking leisurely forward to push it 
into the fire, but, happening to give it a look, all 
at once he was seized with a trembling, paleness 
overspread his countenance, and he seemed con- 
vulsed. He returned to the table, and, laying down 

(93) 



94 TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 

the Bible, said, with a strong asseveration, "We 'will 
not burn that hook till we get a better.'' Soon after 
this, the same gaj, lively young gentleman died, 
and on his death-bed was led to true repentance, 
deriving unshaken hopes of forgiveness, and of fu- 
ture blessedness, from that book he was once going 
to burn. He found it, indeed, the best book, not 
only for a living, but a dying hour. 

Colonel Allen, a celebrated infidel of this coun- 
try, was one day summoned from his library to the 
chamber of a sick daughter, whom her pious mother 
had instructed in the principles of Cliristianity, and 
who, by an unexpected turn in her disease, was 
about to breathe her last. As soon as he nppeared 
at her bed-side, she said to him, "Father, I am 
about to die, shall I believe in the principles which 
you have recommended, or shall I believe in what 
my mother has taught me ?" He became extremely 
agitated ; his chin quivered, his whole frame shook, 
and, after waiting a few moments, he replied, "Be- 
lieve what your mother has taught you." 

Lord Byron, in a letter to Mrs. Sheppard, said, 
" Indisputably, the firm believers in the Gospel have 
a great advantage over all others, for this simple 
reason — that, if true, they will have their reward 
hereafter ; and if there be no hereafter, they can 
be but with the infidel in his eternal sleep, having 
had the assistance of an exalted hope through life, 
without subsequent disappointment, since (at the 
worse, for them), ' out of nothing, nothing can 



TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 95 

arise/- — not even sorrow." The following lines, 
also, are said to have been found in his Bible : — 

" Within this awful volume lies, 
The mystery of mysteries. 
Oh ! happiest they of human race, 
To whom our God has given grace 
To hear, to read, to fear, to pray, 
To lift the latch, and force the w\ay. 
But better had they ne'er been born, 
Who read to doubt, or read to scorn/^ 

In Las Casas's Journal, this record is made con- 
cerning Bonaparte : " The emperor ended the con- 
versation on the subject of religion, by desiring my 
son to bring him the New Testament, and taking it 
from the beginning, he read as far as the conclusion 
of the speech of Jesus on the mountain. He ex- 
pressed himself struck with the highest admiration 
at the purity, the sublimity, the beauty of the mo- 
rality it contains, and we all expressed the same 
feeling." 

Lord Bolingbroke declared, that ^'the Gospel 
is, in all cases, one continued lesson of the strictest 
morality, of justice, of benevolence, and of uni- 
versal charity." 

The testimony of Rousseau was as follows : — 
" This Divine Book, the only one which is indispen- 
sable to the Christian, need only to be read with 
reflection to inspire love for its author, and the most 
ardent desire to obey its precepts. Never did vir- 
tue speak so sweet a language ; never was the most 



96 TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 

profound Ti-isdom expressed T^-itli so mucli energy 
and simplicity. No one can arise from its pernsal, 
"witliout feeling hiaiself better than he was before." 
He also said, speaking of the Bible, and of the cha- 
racter of Christ, " Is it possible that a book, at once 
so simple and sublime, should be merely the work 
of man ? Is it possible that the sacred personage, 
whose history it contains, should himself be a mere 
man ? Do we find that he assumed the tone of an 
enthusiast, or ambitious sectary ? What sweetness, 
what purity in his manners ! What an affecting 
gracefulness in his delivery ! AA^hat subliuiity in 
his maxims ! What profound wisdom in his dis- 
courses ! What presence of mind, what sublimity, 
what truth in his replies ! How great the command 
over his passions ! Vfhere is the man, where is the 
philosopher, who could so live, and so die, without 
weakness, and without ostentation ? When Plato 
described his imaginary good man, loaded with all 
the shame of guilt, yet meriting the highest rewards 
of virtue, he described exactly the character of Je- 
sus Christ : the resemblance was so striking that all 
the Fathers perceived it." Yet this was the strange 
and unhappy man, who, through the wickedness and 
pride of his heart, declared, " I cannot believe the 
Gospel." 

It is related of a deist, who had publicly labored 
to disprove Christianity, and to bring the Scriptures 
into contempt as a forgery, that he was afterwards 
found instructing his child from the New Testament, 



TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 97 

and that, when taxed with the flagrant inconsistency, 
his only reply was, that it was necessary to teach 
the child morality, and that nowhere was there to 
be found such morality as in the Bible. In refer- 
ring to this case, a distinguished divine has uttered 
the following just and truthful sentiments : " We 
thank the deist for the confession. Whatever our 
scorn of a man who could be guilty of so foul a dis- 
honesty, seeking to sweep from the earth a volume 
to which, all the while, himself recurred for the 
principles of education, we thank him for his testi- 
tiraony, that the morality of Scripture is a morality 
nowhere else to be found, so that, if there were no 
Bible, there would be comparatively no source of 
instruction in duties and virtues, whose neglect and 
decline would dislocate the happiness of human so- 
ciety. The deist was right. Deny or disprove the 
Divine origin of Scripture, and, nevertheless, you 
must keep the volume as a kind of text-book of mo- 
rality, if, indeed, you would not wish the banishmxCnt 
from our homes of all that is lovely and sacred, and 
the breaking up, through the lawlessness of ungo- 
verned passions, of the quiet and the beauty which 
are yet round our families." 

Sir William Jones's opinion of the Bible was 
written on the last leaf of one belonging to him, in 
these strong terms: "I have regularly and atten- 
tively read these Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion 
that this volume, independently of its Divine origin, 
contains more sublimity and beauty, more pure mo- 
9 



98 TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 

ralitj, more important history, and finer strains of 
poetry and elegance, tlian can be collected from 
all other books, in whatever age or language they 
may have been composed." 

The Hon. Robert Boyle is another instance. 
His "whole life and fortune were spent in illustrating 
the beauties of the two grand volumes of Creation 
and Revelation. He has said everything in favor 
of the Bible that language admits of. He called it 
"• tltat matcJdess book," and has written a whole 
volume to illustrate its beauties. 

The celebrated John Locke has said : " The mo- 
rality of the Gospel doth so far excel that of all 
other books, that to give a man full knowledge of 
true morality, I would send him to no other book 
than the New Testament." Being asked a little 
before his dissolution, ''' What was the shortest and 
surest way for a young gentlenian to attain true 
knowledge of the Christian religion in the full and 
just extent of it ?" he made this memorable reply, 
" Let himi study the Holy Scriptures, especially the 
Nevf Testament. Therein are contained the words 
of eternal life. It has God for its author, salvation 
for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, 
for its matter." During the last fifteen years of 
his life, Mr. Locke applied himself especially to the 
study of the Holy Scriptures, and he employed the 
last years of his existence in hardly any thing 
else. 

Addison says, "After perusing the book of 



TESTIxMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 99 

Psalms, let a judge of the beauties of poetry read a 
literal translation of Horace or Pindar, and he will 
find in these two last such an absurdity and confu- 
sion of style, with such a comparative poverty of 
imagination, as wdll make him sensible of the vast 
superiority of Scripture style." 

The learned Salmasius, when on his death-bed, 
uttered this language : '' ! I have lost a world of 
time ! If one year more were to be added to my 
life, it should be spent in reading David's Psalms, 
and Paul's Epistles." 

Lord Rochester: A comparison of the 53d 
chapter of Isaiah with the account given in the four 
Evangelists of the sufferings of Christ, became the 
instrument of converting this w^itty and wicked earl. 
He told Bishop Burnet that, as he heard this pro- 
phecy read, and compared it with the record of our 
Saviour's passion, he felt an inward force upon him, 
which did so enlighten his mind and convince him, 
that he could resist it no longer, for the w^ords had 
an authority which did shoot like rays or beams in 
his mind, so that he was not only convinced by the 
reasoning he had about it, which satisfied his under- 
standing, but by a power which did so eifectually 
constrain him, that he did ever after as firmly be- 
lieve in his Saviour as if he had seen him in the 
clouds. 

Amidst the great variety of books which SiR Isaac 
New^ton had constantly before him, that wdiich he 
studied with the greatest application, was the Bible, 



100 TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 

The famous Selden", one of the most eminent plii- 
losopiiers, and most learned men of his time, towards 
the end of his days declared to Archbishop Usher, 
'' that notwithstanding he had been so laborious in 
his inquiries, and curious in his collections, and had 
possessed himself of a treasure of books and manu- 
scripts upon all subjects, yet he could rest his soul 
on none save tlie ScyHptures : and, above all, that pas- 
sage gave the most satisfaction, in Titus, ii. 11-14, 
" The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath 
appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying un- 
godliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
righteously, and godly, in this present world, look- 
ing for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing 
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who 
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from 
all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works." 

It is recorded of E^-ward VI., of England, that, 
upon a certain occasion, a paper w^hich w^as called 
for in the Council Chamber happened to be out of 
reach : the person concerned to produce it, took the 
Bible that lay by, and, standing upon it, reached 
down the paper. The king, observing wdiat was 
done, ran himself to the place, and, taking the Bible 
in his hands, kissed it, and laid it up again. This 
circumstance, though trifling in itself, showed his 
majesty's great reverence for, and affection to, that 
best of all books. 



TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLn. 101 

"^ Come, sit near me, let me lean on you," said 
WiLBERFORCE to a frjend a few minutes before liis 
death. Afterwards, putting liis arms around that 
friend, he said, " God bless you, my dear." He be- 
came agitated, somewhat, and then ceased speaking. 
Presently, however, he said, '^ I must leave you, my 
fond friend, we shall walk no further through this 
world together, but I hope we shall meet in heaven. 
Let us talk of heaven. Do not weep for me, dear 

F — , do not weep, for I am very happy, but 

think of me, and let the thought make you press for- 
ward. I never knew happiness till I found Christ as 
a Saviour. Read the Bible ! Let no religious book 
take its place. Through all my perplexities and 
distresses, I never read any other book, and I never 
knew the want of any other. It has been my hourly 
study ; and all my knowledge of the doctrines, and 
all my acquaintance Avith the experience and reali- 
ties of religion, have been derived from the Bible 
only. I think religious people do not read the Bible 
enough. Books about religion may be useful enough, 
but they will not do instead of the simple truth of 
the Bible." 

Sir Walter Scott, in his final sickness, said to 
Lockhart, his son-in-law, "Bring me a book." 
''What book?" said Lockhart. "Can you ask?" 
said the expiring genius, — " there is but one, — the 
Bible." "I chose the fourteenth chapter of St. 
John's gospel," says Mr. Lockhart, "he listened 
9* 



102 TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 

with mild devotion, and said, when I had done, ' "Well, 
this is a great comfort. I have followed you dis- 
tinctly, and I feel as if I were to be myself again.' 
But this hope was not realized. During his days of 
decline, he was sometimes heard murmuring over 
snatches from Isaiah, and the book of Job, and occa- 
sionally a Psalm, in the old Scottish version." 

In a letter of Dr. Chalmers to an American friend, 
acknowledging the receipt of a highly valued relic 
of Edwards, he alludes to the declaration of a coun- 
tryman of ours, on his death-bed. Being inquired 
of respecting his frame and feelings, he replied, 
" that there is mercy with God in Christ Jesus our 
Lord." That person was Fisheb Ames. Mr. 
Ames lamented the disuse of the Bible in our schools, 
and thus wrote on this subject : " Should not the 
Bible regain the place it once held as a school book ? 
Its morals are pure, its examples captivating and 
noble. The reverence for the Sacred Book that is 
thus early impressed, lasts long, and probably, if 
not impressed in infancy, never takes firm hold of 
the mind. One consideration more is important. 
In no book is there so good English, so pure, and so 
elegant, and by teaching all the same book, they 
will speak alike, and the Bible will justly remain 
the standard of language, as well as of faith. A 
barbarous provincial jargon will be banished, and 
taste, uncorrupted by pompous Johnsonian affecta- 
tion, will be restored." 



TESTIMONY FOR THE BIBLE. 103 

To a writer in the '' Christian Palladium," v/ho. 



in 1847, made a visit to the Hon. John Quincy 
Adams, that distinguished statesman, and venerable^ 
ex-President, said, " My practice, since I was thirty 
years of age, has been to read in the Bible the first 
thing I do every morning. This practice I have fol- 
lowed, with but few interruptions, for fifty years." 

Similar testimony in the same direction was borne 
by him in a letter to his son, in 1811, in v/hich he 
says : "I have for many years made it a practice to 
read through the Bible once every year. My custom 
is to read four or five chapters every morning, im- 
mediately after rising from my bed. It employs 
about an hour of my time, and seems to me the 
most suitable manner of beginning the day. In 
what light soever we regard the Bible, whether with 
reference to revelation, to history, or to morality, it 
is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of know- 
ledge and virtue." 



€^t ^uhnun nf tlir 36iliU dh its 

That is a safe criterion, or rule of judgment, whicli 
the Saviour has recognised and endorsed in the 
words, — "The tree is known by its fruit." No 
system of morals, no articles of faith, are entitled to 
respect, or worthy of reception, which operate hale- 
fully upon the heart and the life. They may be 
plausible and popular, but they are hollow and false, 
and ought to be cast out and trodden under foot of 
men. " The tree is known by its/rwzY." Let any 
theory fail to elevate, adorn, dignify, and purify 
man, prompting him to a life of holiness and hope, 
and to act nobly and purely his part in the various 
relations he is called to sustain, and especially let it 
prove itself unable to support him in death, the pe- 
riod in his history in which he needs most support 
and consolation ; and there is evidence, amounting 
to demonstration, that such theory or system should 
be rejected with scorn and horror. In both these 
regards, the Bible enables its friends triumphantly 
to exclaim to their common foes, — " Their rock is 
not as our rock, even our enemies themselves being 

the judges." 

(104) 



THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE. 105 

Contrast, says an excellent author, in point of 
mere benevolence, the lives and deportment of such 
an infidel as Rousseau, and such a Christian as 
Doddridge ; the one all pride, selfishness, fury, ca- 
price, rage, gross sensuality, easting about fire- 
brands and death, professing no rule of morals but 
his feelings, abusing the finest powers to the dis- 
semination, not merely of objections against Chris- 
tianity, but of the most licentious and profligate 
principles ; Doddridge, all purity, mildness, meek- 
ness, and love, ardent in his good will to man, the 
friend and counsellor of the sorrowful, regular, calm, 
consistent, dispensing peace and truth by his labors 
and his writings, living, not for himself, but for the 
common good, to which he sacrificed his health and 
even life. 

Or, contrast such a man as Yolney with Swartze. 
They both visit distant lands ; they are active and 
indefatigable in their pursuits ; they acquire cele- 
brity, and communicate respectively a certain im- 
pulse to their widened circles ; but the one, jaundiced 
by infidelity, the sport of passion and caprice, lost 
to all argument and right feeling, comes home to 
diffuse the poison of unbelief, to be a misery to him- 
self, the plague and disturber of his country, the 
dark calumniator of the Christian faith. The other 
remains far from his native land, to preach the 
peaceful doctrine on the shores of India ; he be- 
comes the friend and brother of those whom he had 
never seen, and only heard of as fellow creatures ; 



106 THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE. 

he diffuses blessings for half a century ; he insures 
the admiration of the heathen prince near -whom he 
resides ; he becomes the mediator between contend- 
ing tribes and nations ; he establishes a reputation 
for purity, integrity, disinterestedness, meekness, 
■which compel all around to respect and love him ; 
he forms churches, he instructs children, he dis- 
perses the seeds of charity and truth ; he is the 
model of all the virtues he enjoins. 

The Dying Sceptic. 

" Lo, there, in yonder fancy-haunted room, 
AYhat muttered curses tremble through the gloom, 
When pale, and shivering, and bedewed with fear, 
The dying sceptic felt his hour draw near ; 
From his parched tongue no meek hosanna fell. 
No bright hope kindled at his faint farewell. 
As the last throes of death convulsed his cheek, 
He gnashed, and scowled, and raised a hideous shriek, 
Rounded his eyes into a ghastly glare. 
Locked his white lips, and all was mute despair." 

Voltaire, in his last illness, sent for Dr. Tronchin, 
-who, vrhen he came, found him in the greatest ago- 
nies, exclaiming with the utmost horror, " I am 
abandoned by God and man." He then said, '^ Oh! 
doctor, I will give you half of what I am worth if 
you will give me six months' life !" The doctor an- 
swered, " Sir, you cannot live six weeks !" Voltaire 
replied, '' Then I shall go to hell." D'Alembert, 
Diderot, and Marmontel visited him to support his 
last moments, but were only witnesses to their mu- 



THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE, 107 

tual ignominy, as well as liis own. Often would he 
curse them, and exclaim, "Retire! It is you that 
have brought me to my present state ! Begone ! I 
could have done without you all, but you could not 
exist without me. And what a wretched glory you 
have procured me !" To appease the distraction of 
his conscience, he wrote to the Abbe Gaultier, en- 
treating him to visit him, and in a few days thereafter 
he penned the following declaration : 

" I, the undersigned, declare, that for these four 
days past, having been afflicted with a vomiting of 
blood, at the age of eighty-four, and not having 
been able to drag myself to the church, the Rev., 
the Rector of St. Sulpice, having been pleased to 
add to his good works that of sending to me the Abbe 
Gaultier, a priest, I confessed to him — and if it 
please God to dispose of me, I die in the holy 
Catholic Church, in which I was born, hoping that 
the Divine Mercy will deign to pardon all my faults. 
If ever I have scandalized the Church, I ask pardon 
of God and the Church. March the 2d, 1778. 

" Signed Voltaire, in the presence of the Abbe 
Mignot, my nephew, and the Marquis de Villevielle, 
my friend." 

Alternately he blasphemed and supplicated God, 
and in plaintive accents he would frequently cry out, 
" 0, Christ ! 0, Jesus Christ 1" as if he saw the sen- 
tence with which he had subscribed his epistles in 
fiery letters before him. The Marshal de Richelieu, 
his companion in infidelity, flew from his bedside, 



108 THE I]S^FLUEXCE OF THE BIBLE. 

declarino; it to be a sight too terrible to be sustained. 
Dr. Tronchin, thunderstruck, retired, declaring that 
the death of the impious man was terrible indeed; 
and the furies of Orestes could give but a faint idea 
of those of the dying infidel. And the nurse who 
attended him, being, many years afterwards, re- 
quested to wait on a sick Protestant gentleman, re- 
fused, till she was assured he was not a philosopher, 
declaring that, if he was, she would on no account 
incur the danger of witnessing such a scene as she 
had been compelled to do, at the death of Voltaire. 

Mirabeau died, calling out, — "Give me more 
laudanum, that I may not think of eternity, and what 
is to come." 

The last moments of Paine were awful and dis- 
tressing in the extreme. When his infidel com- 
panions said to him, " You have lived like a man — 
we hope you will die like one ;" he observed to one 
near him, " You see, sir, what miserable comforters 
I have." He declared, on one occasion, "that if 
ever the devil had an agent upon earth, he had been 
one." "There was," says Dr. Manley, his phy- 
sician, " something remarkable in his conduct about 
this period, (which comprised about two weeks imme- 
diately preceding his death,) particularly when we 
reflect that Thomas Paine was the author of ' The 
Age of Reason.' He would call out, during his 
paroxysms of distress, without intermission, ' Lord, 
help me ! God, help me ! Jesus Christ, help me ! 
Lord, help me !' — repeating the same expressions, 



THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE. 109 

witliout any, even the least variation, in a tone 
of voice that would alarm the house. This conduct 
induced me to think that he had abandoned his 
former opinions ; and I was more inclined to that 
belief, when I understood from his nurse, who is a 
very serious, and, I believe, pious woman, that he 
would inquire, when he saw her engaged with a book, 
what she was reading; being answered, and at the 
same time asked whether she w^ould read aloud, he 
assented, and would give particular attention." But 
when his physician repeatedly pressed him to confess 
his guilt and error, and asked him, " Do you believe, 
or, let me qualify the question, do you wish to be- 
lieve that Jesus Christ is the Son of God ?" — after a 
pause of some minutes, he sullenly answered, " I have 
no wish to believe on that subject." Dr. Manley re- 
marks, " for my own part I believe, that had not 
Thomas Paine been such a distinguished infidel, he 
would have left less equivocal evidences of a change 
of opinion." The woman whom he had seduced from 
her husband and children in France, lamented to a 
friend, who visited Paine in his departing moments — 
" For this man I have given up my family and friends, 
my property and my religion ; judge, then, of my 
distress, when he tells me that the principles he has 
taught will not bear me out." 

When the Atheist, Hobbes, drew near to death, 

he declared, "I am about to take a leap in the dark ;" 

and the last sensible words that he uttered, were, 

*' I shall be glad to find a hole to creep out of the 

10 



110 THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE. 

world at." Emerson, towards tlie close of his life, 
crawled about the floor, at one time praying, and at 
another swearing. Newport's last words were, — 
" Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell and damnation." 

The Dying Christian. 

" Go, child of darkness ! see a Christian die ! 
No horror pales his lips, or dims his eye, 
No fiend-shaped phantoms of destruction start 
The hope religion pilloNYS on his heart, 
When with a faltering hand he waves adieu 
To all who love so well, and weep so true: 
Meek, as an infant to the mother's breast 
Turns, fondly longing for its wonted rest, 
He pants, for where congenial spirits stray, 
Turns to his God, and sighs his soul away/' 

When Paul stood on the shore of eternity, his lan- 
guage was, "I am now ready to be offered, and the 
time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a 
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept 
the faith, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
shall give me at that day." When John Knox was 
near his last breath, a friend who had prayed with 
him, having asked whether he had heard what was 
said, " Would to God," was his reply, " that y«t)u had 
all heard those words with such an ear and heart as 
I !" then looking heavenward, he said, " Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit," and without a struggle, entered 
into the joy of his Lord. Addison's reply to a young 
nobleman, who requested him to impart his last in- 



THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE. Ill 

junctions, was, " I have sent for you, that you may 
see how a Christian can die." It was in allusion to 
the last moments of this truly great man that Dr. 
Young wrote : — 

" He taught us how to live, and, ! too high 
A price for knowledge ! taught us how to die!'^ 

Halyburton, when dying, thus addressed those 
around him — " Here is a demonstration of the re- 
ality and power of faith and godliness. I, a poor, 
weak and timorous man, once as much afraid of 
death as any one ; I, who was many years under the 
terrors of death, come, in the mercy of God, and by 
the power of his grace, composedly, and with joy, to 
look death in the face. I have seen it in its pale- 
ness, and all the circumstances of horror that attend 
it. I dare look it in the face in its most ghastly 
shape, and hope to have in a little time the victory 
over it. Glory, glory to him ! what of God do I 
see ! I have never seen anything like it ! The begin- 
ning and end of religion are w^onderfully sweet ! I 
long for his salvation, I bless his name ! I have found 
him ! I am taken up in blessing him ! I am dying : 
rejoicing in the Lord ! 0, I could not have believed 
that I should bear, and bear cheerfully, as I have 
done, this rod, which hath lain on me so long. This 
is a miracle. Pain without pain ! you see a man 
dying a monument of the glorious power of astonish- 
ing grace!" Some time after, he said: — "When I 
shall be so weakened as not to be able to speak, I 



112 THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE. 

Tvill give YOU, if I can, a sign of triumpli when I am 
near to glory." This lie did, for when one said, ''I 
hope you are encouraging yourself in the Lord," not 
being able to speak, he lifted up his hands, clapped 
them, and quickly after expired. 

"I am full of confidence," said Dr. Doddridge, 
^' there is a hope set before me : I have fled, I still 
fly for refuge to that hope. In Him I trust. In 
Him I have strong consolation, and shall assuredly 
be accepted in the Beloved of my soul." 

"Do not think," declared Mr. Hervey, "that I 
am afraid to die 1 I assure you, I am not. I know 
what my Saviour hath done for me, and I want to 
be gone. But I wonder and lament to think of the 
love of Christ in doing so much for me, and how little 
I have done for Him." A little before his death, he 
said: — "The great conflict is over! Now all is 
done !" 

" It will not be long," exclaimed Mr. Toplady, 
" before God takes me ; for no mortal man can live 
(bursting into tears) after the glories which God has 
manifested to my soul." 

To some young men whom Dr. Payson invited to 
visit him, he observed: — "Death comes every night 
and stands by my bed-side in the form of terrible 
convulsions, every one of which threatens to sepa- 
rate the soul from the body. These continue to 
grow worse and worse, until every bone is almost 
dissolved with pain, leaving me with the certainty 
that I shall have it aU to endure again the next 



THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE. 113 

night. Yet, while my body is thus tortured, the soul 
is perfectly, perfectly happy and peaceful — more 
happy than I can possibly express to you. I lie 
here, and feel these convulsions extending higher and 
higher, without the least uneasiness ; but my soul is 
filled with joy unspeakable. I seem to revive in a 
flood of glory which God pours down upon me. And 
I know, I know that my happiness is but begun, I 
cannot doubt that it will last for ever. And now, 
is all this a delusion ? Is it a delusion which can fill 
the soul to overflowing with joy in such circum- 
stances ? If so, it is surely a delusion better than 
any reality ; but no, it is not a delusion, I feel that 
it is not. I do not merely know that I shall enjoy 
all this, I enjoy it now.'^ 
Thus is it true, that 

" Death has no terrors for the Christianas soul, 
His sting's extracted, and his mighty dart 
Was blunted by its task on Calvary." 



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(114) 



jiamo nf l\}t foWih. 

The sacred volume is known by various and sig- 
nificant titles. It is called The Bible, or the book, 
from the Greek word, /3i'/3Xog, book, a name given 
originally (like liber in Latin) to the inner bark of 
the linden, or teil-tree, and afterwards to the bark 
of the papyrus, the materials of which early books 
were sometimes made. So prevailing has been the 
sense of Holy Scripture being the Book, the worthi- 
est and best, that one which explained all other 
books, standing up in their midst — like Joseph's 
kingly sheaf, to which all the other sheaves did obei* 
sance — that this name of "bible" or "book" has 
come to be restricted to it alone : just as " scripture" 
means no more than "writing;" but this inspired 
writing has been felt to be so far above all other 
writings, that this name also it has challenged as 
exclusively its own. 

It is called the Old and New Testament ; the word 
Testament signifying a will or covenant, and being 
given because the book contains the substance of 
God's covenant with the Jews under the legal dis- 
pensation, and the substance of the Christian cove- 
nant, w^hich was sealed by the blood of Christ. 

It is called the Oracles of God, because it contains 
the answers which God has given from his holy 

(115) 



116 NAMES OFTIIEBIBLE. 

place, to the inquiries of his people, or to indicate 
the place where, under the old dispensation, the will 
of God was revealed. 

It is sometimes called the canon of Scripture, from 
a Greek word which signified, primarily, a measuring 
rod, a rule, and which being first applied figuratively 
to the inspired Scriptures, as being the measure or 
model of religious conduct and belief, afterwards 
came to signify merely a list, or catalogue. 

"The Law" and "the Prophets" are each em- 
ployed, and sometimes unitedly by a common figure 
of speech, to designate the whole of the Old Testa- 
ment. 

The word holy is often connected with other titles, 
to express the pure quality, and the holy tendency 
of the inspired volume. 

Of all the titles which the Bible has received, the 
"Word of God" is perhaps the most impressive and 
complete. It is sufficient to justify the faith of the 
feeblest Christian, and it gathers up all that the most 
earnest search can unfold. We may say more at 
large what this title involves, but more than this we 
cannot say. It teaches us to regard the Bible as the 
utterance of Divine wisdom and love. 



The first five books of the Old Testament, -vYbxicTi 
are Gfenesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numhers, and Deu- 
teronomy, are sometimes called the Pentateuch, from 
pente, five, and teuchos, an instrument or volume. 
They were written by Moses more than 3000 years 
ago, and are the most ancient writings in the world. 

Genesis. 

The Hebrews call it, and the other books of Moses, 
from the first word or words, but the Greeks call it 
Genesis, or generation, because it relates the history 
of the creation, and about twenty-four generations 
descended from Adam. It extends to 2369 years ; 
informs us of God's making the world; of man's 
happy state, and fall ; of the propagation of man- 
kind in the lines of Cain, the murderer of Abel, and 
of Seth ; of the rise of religion, and the general 
apostasy from it ; of the flood, the salvation of 
Noah's family by an ark, and their repeopling of the 
w^orld ; of the origin of nations, and the building of 
Babel ; of the life, and death, and posterity of Na- 
hor. Lot, Abraham, Isaac, Esau, Jacob, and Jo- 
seph. No history but this affords any probable ac- 

(117) 



118 



THE BOOKS OP THE BIBLE 



count of ancient tilings, and tliis has concurrent tes- 
timony of almost every authentic historian we have, 
as of Abyclenus, Berosus, Magasthenes, Polyhister, 
Nicolaus, &c. AVhether Moses wrote this book while 
in Miclian, or rather when he led the Hebrews through 
the desert, is not agreed. 

In reading Genesis, we may discover intimations 
of Christ, not only in the promises, but in the cha- 
racters described, many of whom were types or 
figures of the Saviour. See for example, Gen. ii. 
7, &c., compared with 1 Cor. xv. 45-49, &c. ; Gen. 
xiv. 18-20, compared with Heb. vii. 



REFERENCES IN GENESIS. 



i.l; neb. xi. 3. 




xii. 1 ; Heb. xi. 8. 


xxi. 1, 3; Gal.iv.28. 


iii.4: 2Cor. xi. 3. 




xiv. 18; neb.Tii.1. 


xxii. 1,10; Heb. xi. 17; 


iii. 6; 1 Tim. ii. 14. 




XT. 6; Rom. It. 3; James 


James ii. 21. 


iv. 4; Heb. xi. 4. 




ii. 23. 


xxii. 18 ; Luke i. 55. 


iv. 8: 1 John iii. 


12: 


xvi. 15 ; Gal. iv. 22. 


XXV. 22 ; Rom. ix. 10. 


Jude 11. 




xviii. 10 ; Heb. xi. 11. 


XXV. 33 ; Heb. xii. 16, 


T. 24; Heb. xi. 5. 




xviii. 12 ; 1 Pet. iii. 6. 


xxvii. 27 ; Heb. xi. 20. 


TJ. 12 ; 1 Pet. iii. 20. 




xix. 24; Luke xvii. 28,29. 


xlviii. 15; Heb.xi. 21. 


Ti. 14; Heb. xi. 7 ; 2 


Pet. 


xix. 25; 2 Pet. ii. 6; 


xlix. 10; John i, 49; 


ii. 5. 




Jude, 7. 


Luke i. 32. 


vii. 4 ; Matt. xxir. 37, 


38. 


xix. 26 ; Luke xvii, 32. 


1.24; Heb.xi. 22, 



Exodus. 



This is the second book of Moses. The name is 
derived from ex^ out, and odos, a way, and it is thus 
applied as denoting the departure of the Israelites 
out of Egypt. The book is a narrative of the trans- 
actions of about a hundred and forty-five years, from 
the death of Joseph, A. M. 2369, to the erection of 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 119 

the tabernacle in 2514, particularly of the tyranny 
of Pharaoh, the bondage and marvellous increase of 
the Israelites in Egypt, the Lord's sending Moses 
and Aaron to deliver them ; the ten plagues inflicted 
on the Egyptians for refusing to let them go, and 
the destruction of their king and army in the Red 
Sea ; the Israelites' departure from Egypt ; safe pas- 
sage through the Red Sea ; their wonderful suste- 
nance by sweetened water, or water from a dry rock, 
and with bread from heaven ; God's publishing and 
giving them his law at Sinai, and their idolatrous 
making and worship of the golden calf; the direc- 
tions concerning the tabernacle, and consecration of 
priests ; the oblations for and actual erection of the 
tabernacle. 

This book is cited as the work of Moses by David, 
Daniel, and others of the sacred writers, and it has 
been remarked, that twenty-five distinct passages are 
quoted from it by Christ and his apostles in express 
words, and nineteen in substance. 

Exodus contains the covenant of the moral law, 
distinct from the covenant made with Abraham : 
Gal. iii. 17. Christ was prefigured by the rock that 
followed Israel, and the manna which fed them, and 
he was the angel who conducted them. Moses was 
a type of Christ as a lawgiver, mediator, deliverer, 
and intercessor ; as the bead of the Church, as the 
guide and Saviour of Israel. The deliverance of 
Israel from Egypt, and their journey through the 
wilderness, are lively figures of the deliverance of 



120 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE, 



Christians from the bondage of sin, and of their 
journey through this world's wilderness to the land 
of heavenly rest. 



REFERENCES IN EXODUS. 



ii. 2 ; Ueb. xi. 23. 
ii. 11; Ileb. xi. 24; 

vii. 24. 
iii. 2 ; Acts vii. 30. 
xii. 7 ; Ueb. xi. 28, 



xiv. 22 ; 1 Cor. x. 2 ; ] 

xi. 29. 
xvi. 15; John tL 31, 

1 Cor. X. 3. 
xvii. 6 ; 1 Cor. x. 4. 



xix. 6 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9. 
xix. 12 ; Heb. xii. 18. 
xxiv. 8 ; Heb. xi. 19. 
xxvi. 35 ; Heb. xi. 2. 
xxxii. 6 : 1 Cor. x. 7. 



Leviticus. 



This third book of Moses is so called because it 
contains principally the laws and regulations rela- 
ting to the Levites, priests, and sacrifices. The Le- 
vites were the descendants of Levi, the son of Jacob. 
The book contains twenty-seven chapters, divided 
into four principal sections : — (1.) The laws concern- 
ing sacrifices. (2.) The consecration of the high- 
priests. (3.) Purification, &c. (4.) Sacred festi- 
vals. It contains, also, many of the laws by which 
tbe civil department of the government was to 
be administered, besides many remarkable prophe- 
cies. The Epistle to the Hebrews is the best 
commentary on this Book. The things here de- 
scribed are shadows of better things to come, even 
of Christ and redemption through Him. The hurnt- 
offeriyig shows us the full, perfect, and sufficient 
sacrifice of Christ once ofi"ered, whose blood cleanses 
from all sin. The siyi-offering, part of which was 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 121 

burnt without the camp, represents Christ, our sin- 
oiFering, dying for us without the gate of Jerusalem. 
Christ is the sum and the substance of all. The 
washings and deansings point out to us the purify- 
ing influences of the Holy Spirit. The oil is an 
emblem of his unction. The particular directions 
respecting -worship, show us the vast importance of 
reverence and attention in all our worship. Boyle 
observes : — " The ceremonial law, with all its mystic 
rites, like the manger to the shepherds, holds forth, 
wrapped in his swaddling clothes, the infant Jesus." 



REFERENCES IN" LEVITICUS. 



xii. 3, 46; John Ti. 

Luke ii. 21-4. 
xiv. 4; Matt. viii. 4. 
XYi. 14; Ileb. ix. 13. 



xvi. 17; Luke i. 10. 

xviii. 5; Rom. x. 4, 5;^ 

Gal. iii. 12. 
xis. 15 ; James ii. 1. 



Numbers. 



xix. 17; Matt, xviii. ! 

Luke xTii. 3. 
xix. 18; Gal. v. 14. 
XX. 10 ; John viii. 5. 
xxvi. 12; 2Cor. vi. 16, 



This book, the fourth of the Pentateuch, receives 
its denomination from the numbering of the families 
of Israel by Moses and Aaron, who mustered the 
tribes, and marshalled the army of the Hebrews in 
their passage through the wilderness, A great part 
of the book is historical, relating several remarkable 
events which happened in that journey. It compre- 
hends the history of about 38 years. The brazen 
serpent hung upon a pole, (chap. xxi. v. 9.) was a 
striking type of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and the ro- 
ll 



122 



THE BOOKS or THE BIBLE 



covery of the Israelites, of the recovery of the 
perishing sinner through faith in him. See John, 
iii. 



14, 15. 



REFERENCES IN NUMBERS. 



Till. 16 : Luke ii. 23. 
ix. 18 ; 1 Cor. x. 1. 
xi. 4 : 1 Cor. x. 6. 
xii. 7 ; llcb. iii. 2. 
xiv. 27: 1 Cor. x. 
Hob. iii. 17. 



10: 



xTi. 1 ; Jude 11. 
xix. 3; Ileb. xiii. 11. 
XX. 8 ; 1 Cor. x. 4 
xxi. 5, 6 ; 1 Cor. x. 9. 
xxi. 9 ; John iii. 14. 
xxii. 23 ; 1 Tet. ii. 16. 



xxii. 39 : 2 Pet. ii. 15 ; 

Jade ii. 
xxiv. 14; Rer. ii. 14. 
XXV. 9 ; 1 Cor. x. 8. . 
xxvi. C5 ; 1 Cor. x. t. 
xxviii. 9 ; Matt. xii. v. 



Deuteronomy. 



From deuteros, second, and nomos, law, is the last 
of the five books of Moses. As its name imports, it 
contains a repetition of the civil and moral law, 
which was a second time delivered by Moses, with 
some additions and explanations, as well to impress 
it more forcibly upon the Israelites in general, as in 
particular for the benefit of those who, being born 
in the wilderness, were not present at the first pro- 
mulgation of the law. It contains, also, a recapitu- 
lation of the several events which had befallen the 
Israelites since their departure from Egypt, with 
severe reproaches for their past misconduct, and 
earnest exhortations to future obedience. In chap, 
xviii. V. 18, there is a most plain prophecy of Christ: 
See Acts iii. 22. Moses directed that this book 
should be read every seven j^ears, and appointed the 
time and manner of doing it. (Deut. xxxi. 9-13.) 
It was written, probably, A, M. 2552. It finishes 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 



123 



with an account of the death of Moses, which is 
supposed to have been added by his successor, 
Joshua. 



REFERENCES IN DEUTERONOMY. 



vi. 18; Matt. iv. 10. 
Ti. 16; Matt. iv. 7. 
viii. 3 ; Matt. iv. 4. 
s. 17; Acts X. 34; Rom. 
xii. 11 ; Coloss. iii. 25. 



X. 17 ; Eplie.s. vi. 9. 
xxvii. 6; Ileb. x. 28. 
xviii. 1 ; 1 Cor. ix. 13. 
xviii. 18 ; John i. 45 ; 

Acts iii. 22; Acts 

Tii. 37. 



xxiv. 1; Matt. v. 31; 

Matt. xix. 7 ; Mark 

X. 4. 
XXV. 4 ; 1 Cor. ix. 9. 
xxvii. 2G ; Gal. iii. 10, 
XXX. 12-14 ; £om. x. 6-9. 



The next twelve hooJcs, from Joshua to tTob, are 
called historical hooks. 



Joshua. 

The Book of Joshua is understood to have been 
written by himself, with the exception of a few verses 
in the end, giving an account of his death, and it is 
afterwards quoted under his name. These last verses 
were added by one of his successors, probably by 
Eleazer, Phinehas, or Samuel. The book continues 
the sacred history from the period of the death of 
Moses to that of the death of Joshua and of Eleazer, 
a space of about 30 years. It contains an account 
of the conquest and division of the land of Canaan, 
the renewal of the covenant wdth the Israelites, and 
the death of Joshua. There are two passages in it 
which show that it was written by a person contem- 
porary with the events it records. Josh. v. 1-vi. 25. 
Joshua was a distinguished type of Christ, conduct- 



124 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

ing Ms people through every difficulty to the heav- 
enly Canaan. 

'Though numerous hosts of mighty foes, 
Though earth and hell their way oppose, 
He safely leads their souls along; 
His loving-kindness, 0! how strong! 

EEFEREXCES IX JOSHUA. 

i. 5 ; Heb. xiii. 5. j ii. 1 ; James ii. 25. 1 vi. 20 ; Heb. xi. 30, 31, 

ii; Ileb. xi. 31. liii. Ii; Acts yii. 45. Ixiv. 1, 2 ; Acts xiii. 19. 

Judges. 

The authorship of the Book of Judges is not cer- 
tainly known. It appears to be the work of one 
author, who lived after the time of the judges, and 
he is generally thought to be Samuel. To him Jew- 
ish tradition also ascribes it. It derives its title from 
the fact that it gives us the history of the Israelites 
under the administration of fifteen judges, viz : from 
eighteen or twenty years after the death of Joshua, 
or about, B. c. 1564, to the time of Saul, or about 
B. c. 1110 ; a period of more than four hundred and 
fifty years. It also exhibits the sinfulness of man 
in the conduct of the Israelites, and how certainly 
punishment follows sin, as well as records the good- 
ness of God in foro;ivino; them. 

The judges^ already referred to, were not a regu- 
lar succession of governors, but occasional deliverers, 
raised up by God, to rescue Israel from oppression 
and to administer justice. Without assuming the 
state of royal authority, they acted for the time as 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLi:. 125 

vicegerents of Jehovah, the invisible king. Their 
power seems not to have been unlike that of the suf- 
fetes of Carthage and Tyre, or of the archons of 
Athens. The government of the people may be de- 
scribed as a republican confederacy, the elders and 
princes having authority in their resprective tribes. 

REFERENCES IN JUDGES. 
ii. 18 ; Acts xiii. 20. | Generally, Ileb. xi. 32, 40. 

EUTH. 

The Book of Ruth is so called from the name of 
the person, a native of Moab, whose history it con- 
tains. It may be considered as a supplement to the 
book of Judges, to which it was joined in the Hebrew 
Canon, and the latter part of which it greatly re- 
sembles, being a detached story belonging to the 
same period. It has only four chapters ; and though 
there are at its close some highly important genea- 
logical facts, its prominent design is to show the 
watchful care of God's Providence over such as fear 
and trust him. The book was certainly written after 
the birth of David, and probably by the prophet 
Samuel, though some have attributed it to Hezekiah, 
and others to Ezra. 

REFERENCES IN RUTH, 
jv. 18; Matt. 1, 4; and Luke iii. 31, 33,' 

I. AND II. Samuel. 

The first and second Books of Samuel bear the 
name of that prophet, because he wrote twenty- 
11 * 



126 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

four chapters of the first book. Nathan and Gad 
are supposed to have completed them. (1 Chron. 
xxix. 29.) Thej constitute an important part of the 
annals of the Jewish nation. The first book em- 
braces a period of eighty years, from the birth of 
Samuel to the death of Saul, and relates to Eli and 
Samuel, the last two of the judges, and Saul and 
David, the first two of their kings. The second book 
embraces a period of about forty years, and contains 
the national records during the long reign of David, 
as well as the events of his personal history. Samuel 
began the order of the prophets, which was never 
discontinued till the death of Zechariah and Malachi. 
(Acts 3 : 24.) 

REFEREXCES IX I. SAMUEL, 
xxi. 6 ; Matt. xii. 3, 4 ; Mark ii. 25 ; ] xvi. 12 ; Acts vii. 46, 
Luke Yi. 4. ' Generally Acts xiii. 21, 23. 

KEFERENCES IN II. SAMUEL, 
xii. 24 ; Matt. i. 6, 

I. Kings. 

1st Kings contains the history of 126 years; be- 
gins with Solomon's appointment to the throne; 
describes David's death, the reign of Solomon, the 
building of the temple, Solomon's sin ; his death, the 
division of the twelve tribes into the kingdoms of 
Israel and Judah, (from this time the people of the 
ten tribes are called Israel^ and those of the king- 
dom of Judah are called Jeivs) ; the account of Elijah, 
the prophet, and of several kings. The reign of 
Solomon is a figure of the peaceful reign of the 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 127 

Saviour. The temple itself, vfhere alone sacrifice was 
to be offered, and of which so much is afterwards 
said, is often used by the sacred writers as an image 
of the beauty and perfection of the Church of God. 
When the Israelites became idolaters they never 
prospered. 

REFERENCES IN I. KINGS. 



ii. 10; Acts ii. 29; Acts x. 1 ; Matt. xii. 42 ; Luke 
xiii. 36. xi. 31. 



xvii. 1 ; Luke iv. 25. 
xviii. 42 ; James v. 17. 



II. Kings. 

2d Kings contains the history of 344 years. The 
histories of Israel and Judah are here carried on to- 
gether ; Elijah is taken up to heaven, and Elisha suc- 
ceeds him ; the reigns of many kings in Israel and 
Judah are described ; the ten tribes of Israel are car- 
ried captives to Assyria ; and, in about 160 years 
afterwards, Judah is carried captive to Babylon. 
See the evil and consequences of sin. In Elijah, 
and afterwards in Elisha, we see how much good one 
resolute man- of God may do. The seed of David is 
continued on the throne. See the faithfulness of 
God. 

REFERENCES IN II. KINGS. 
iv. 29 ; Luke x. 4. | v. 14 ; Luke iv. 27 

I. AND II. Chronicles. 

1st and 2d Chronicles (or Annals,) are in some 
sense supplemental to the two books of Kings. These 
books were called by the Jews, ^' Words of Days," 
that is, ^'Diaries," or "Journals." They are called 



128 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

in tlic LXX, Paraleipomena^ which signifies, "things 
omitted." In them are found many particulars 
which are not extant elsewhere. The authorship of 
them is generally ascribed to Ezra. The first book 
traces the rise and propagation of the children of 
Israel, from Adam, together with a circumstantial 
account of the reign and transactions of David ; the 
second continues the narrative, relates the progress 
and dissolution of the kingdom of Judea, (apart from 
Israel,) to the year of the return of the people 
from Babylon. Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles 
should be read and compared together, as they re- 
late substantially the same histories, though with 
diilerent degrees of particularity, and with difi*erent 
means of information. 

REFERENCES IX I. CHRONICLES. 
xxiii. 13 ; Ileb. t. 4. | xxiv. 10 ; Luke i. 5. 

Ezra. 

Ezra begins with the repetition of the last two 
verses of the second Book of Chronicles, and carries 
the Jewish history through a period of seventy-nine 
years, commencing from the edict of Cyrus. It is to 
be observed, that between the dedication of the tem- 
ple and the departure of Ezra, that is, between the 
sixth and seventh chapters of this book, there was an 
interval of about fifty-eight years, during which 
nothing is here related concerning the Jews, except 
that, contrary to God's command, they intermarried 
with Grentiles. This book is written in Chaldee from 
the eighth verse of the fourth chapter to the twenty- 



f 
THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 129 

seventli verse of tlie seventh cliapter. It is probable 
that the sacred historian used the Chaldean language 
in this part of his work, because it contains chiefly 
letters and decrees v/ritten in that language, the 
original words of which he might think it right to 
record; and indeed the people, who were recently re- 
turned from the Babylonian captivity, were at least 
us familiar with the Chaldee as they were with the 
Hebrew tongue. Ezra, the author of the book, was 
of the sacerdotal family, being a direct descendant 
from Aaron, and succeeded Zerubbabel in the govern- 
ment of Judea. 

JN'ehemiah. 

The Book of jN^ehemiah may be regarded as a 
continuation of, or supplement to, the Book of Ezra, 
and in some Bibles it is called the second book of 
Ezra, though it is unquestionably the work of Nehe- 
miah. 

This book contains an account of the motives and 
designs of Nehemiah in wishing to restore Jerusalem, 
the place of his fathers' sepulchres ; of the commis- 
sion he received ; his associates in the work ; their 
various successes and difficulties ; the introduction 
of a better order of things, both in the religious and 
civil departments of the government, and a census 
or register of the people. The Old Testament his- 
tory closes with this book, B. c. 4-20. After the 
death of Nehemiah, Judea became subject to the 
government of Syria. 



130 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

Esther. 

The Book of Esther is so designated, because it 
contains the history of Esther, the Je^^'ish captive, 
who, by her remarkable accomplishments, gained the 
affection of king Ahasuerus, and by marriage with 
him was raised to the throne of Persia. It relates 
to the origin and ceremonies of the feast of Purim, 
instituted in commemoration of the great deliverance, 
which she, by her interest, procured for the Jews, 
whose general destruction had been concerted by the 
offended pride of Haman. Its authorship has been 
ascribed to Ezra, to Mordecai, or to the distinguished 
persons who lived at that time, and are known by 
the title of the great Synagogue. 



The five folloiving hooks are more simply religious 
than most of the yreceding. They are called poeti- 
cal hooks, hecause tliey are chiefly written in verse in 
the original tongue. 

Job. 

This book takes its name from the venerable 
patriarch whose history it records. Its antiquity 
and the brevity of its style, make it confessedly 
difficult of interpretation. But these difficulties 
seldom refer to to^^ics of religious importance. 

As Job is mentioned in Scripture in connection 
with other known saints, (Ezek. xiv. 14; James v. 11), 
it may be safely concluded that he was a real person, 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 131 

and that the narrative is no fiction. This conclu- 
sion is sustained by the details given of persons and 
places, and by other internal evidence. Uz, the 
country which he inhabited, was probably in the 
northeast of Arabia Beserta. 

The age in which Job lived is a question that has 
created much discussion. The most probable opinion 
fixes it as earlier than Abraham. The book may be 
read, therefore, between the 11th and 12th chapters 
of Genesis, as a supplement to the concise record of 
the early condition of our race, given by Moses. 

Kespecting the author of the book, a difference of 
opinion prevails. Some ascribe it to Job, others to 
Elihu, and others to Moses. Whoever was its author, 
its canonical authority is proved by its place in the 
Jewish Scriptures, and the recognition of the whole 
collection by our Lord and his Apostles. 

REFERENCES IN JOB. 

i. 21 ; 1 Tim. vi. 7. | v. 13 ; 1 Cor. iii. 19. I xxxiv. 19 ; Acts x. 34. 

ii. 10 ; James v. 11. I v. 17 ; Ileb. xii. 5. 

PSALMS. 

The Book of Psalms is entitled in the Hebrew, 
the Book of Hymns ^ or Praises^ because the greater 
part of them are effusions of grateful praise to God, 
while the rest are the outpourings of penitential 
grief in regular measures. In the Gospels it is va- 
riously called '^ The Book of Psalms, " " The Prophet, ' ' 



132 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

or "David," from the name of its principal author. 
Among the other authors reckoned bj the Jews, are 
Moses, Solomon, Asaph, Heman, Ethan, Jeduthun, 
and the three sons of Korah. The whole was pro- 
bably arranged in its present form by Ezra. 

They are sometimes called The Psalter, from the 
Psaltery, a musical instrument used to accompany 
them when sung. 

The authority and inspiration of this book have 
always been acknowledged by both Jews and Chris- 
tians. It is quoted in the New Testament, or clearly 
referred to, upwards of seventy times. 

In a literary point of view, the Psalms have been 
greatly and justly admired, and men of distinction 
have vied with each other in extolling their excel- 
lencies. Athanasius styles them " an epitome of 
the w^hole Scriptures ;" Basil, a compendium of all 
theology;" Luther terms them "a little Bible," and 
"the summary of the Old Testament;" and Me- 
lanchthon called them "the most elegant writing 
in the whole world." "Not in their divine argu- 
ments alone," says Milton, "but in the very critical 
art of composition, they may be easily made to ap- 
pear over all the kinds of lyric poesy incomparable." 
"In lyric flow and fire," says a more modern au- 
thority, "in crushing force and majesty . . ..the 
poetry of the ancient Scriptures is the most superb 
that ever burnt within the breast of man?' 

The chief excellence and attraction of the Psalms 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 133 

are to be fcund in their varied and profound devo- 
tional character. To the mind inquisitively pious, 
and ardent in the pursuit of heavenly knowledge, 
these seraphic songs present a path of discovery con- 
tinually opening before them, refulgent with the 
footsteps of the Messiah, and resounding with the 
promises of the Gospel. 

Pmlms of Prayer. 

For pardon of sin, 6, 25, 38, 51, 130. Penitential, 6, 32, 
38, 51, 102, 130, 143. When prevented attending public 
worship, 42, 43, 63, 84. When dejected under afflictions, 13, 
22, 69, 77, 88, 143. Asking help of God, 7, 17, 26, 35. Ex- 
pressing trust in God in afflictions, 3, 16, 27, 31, 54, 56, 57, 
61, 62, 71, 86. Under affliction or persecution, 44, 60, 74, 79, 
80, 83, 89, 94, 102, 123, 137. In trouble, 4, 5, 11, 28, 41, 55, 
59, 64, 79, 109, 120, 140, 141, 142. Intercession, 20, 67, 122, 
132, 144. 



Psalms of Thanksgiving for Mercies. 

To particular persons, 9, 18, 22, 30, 43, 40, 75, 103, 108, 
116, 118, 138, 144. To the Israelites, 46, 48, 65, 66, 68, 76, 
81, 85, 98, 105, 124, 126, 129, 135, 136, 149. 

Psalms of Praise and Adoration, displaying Grod's 
Attributes. 

His goodness and mercy, and care of good men, 23, 34, 36, 
91, 100, 103, 107, 117, 121, 145, 146. His power, majesty, 
glory, and other attributes, 8, 19, 24, 29, 33, 47, 50, 65, 66, 
76, 77, 93, 95, 96, 97, 99, 104, 111, 113, 114, 115, 134, 139, 
147, 148, 150. 
12 



134 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 



Instructive Psalms. 

The character of good and bad men, their happiness, and 
misery, 1, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 24, 25, 32, 34, 36, 
37, 50, 52, 53, 58, 73, 75, 84, 91, 92, 94, 112, 119, 121, 125, 
127, 128, 133. The excellence of God's law, 19, 119. Vanity 
of human life, 39, 49, 90. Advice to magistrates, 82, 101. 
Humility, 131. Prophetical Psalms, 2, 16, 22, 40, 45, 68, 72, 
87, 210, 118. Historical Psalms, 78, 105, 106. 



EEFEREXCES IN THE PSALMS. 



ii. 1 ; Acts, iv. 25, 26. 
ii. 7 ; Acts. xiii. 13. 

neb. i. 5. 

Ileb. T. 5. 
viii. 4; Ileb. ii. 6. 
xvi. 10; Acts, xiii. 35. 
xviii. 49 ; Rom. xv. 9. 
xix. 4; Rom. x. 18. 
xxii; Matt, xxvii. 

Mark, xv. 
xxxi, 5 ; Luke, xxiii. 46. 



xl. 6 ; Heb. x. 5. 
xli. 9 ; John, xiii. 18. 
xliv. 22 ; Eom. viii. 36. 
xlT. 6 ; Ileb. i. 8. 
Ixix. 22, 23 ; Eom. xi. £ 

10. 
Ixix. 25 ; Acts, i. 20. 
Ixxviii. 2 ; Matt. xiii. 34. 
xci. 11 ; Matt. iv. 6, 7. 
xcv ; Heb. iii. and iv. 



cix. 8 ; Acts, 1. 20. 
ex. 1 ; 5Iatt. xxii. 44. 

Luke, XX. 42. 
cxvii. 1 ; Rom. 15, 11. 
cxviii. 22 ; Matt. xxi. 42. 

Acts, iv. 11. 

Eph. ii. 20. 

1 Pet. ii. 4, 7. 
cxsxii. 5; Acts, ii. 30. 

Acts, vii. 46. 



The Book of Proverbs. 

The Book of Proverbs is universally attributed 
to Solomon, although their arrangement in the pre- 
sent form was undoubtedly the work of another 
hand. As to its canonical authority, Michaelis well 
observes, " that no book of the Old Testament is so 
well ratified by the evidence of quotation." Euse- 
bius mentions the whole consent of the ancients, 
considering it to be " Wisdom fraught with every 
kind of virtue." Bishop Hall draws out mainly 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 135 

from it a complete system of Divine arts. Mr. 
Scott remarks, that "We shall perceive the meaning 
and utility of the Proverbs, in proportion to our ex- 
perience in true religion, our acquaintance with our 
own hearts, and with human nature, and the extent 
and accuracy of our observation on the character 
and affairs of men." It has been recorded of Mary 
Jane Graham, " that she was delighted, in the course 
of her study of the Book of Proverbs, to have Christ 
so much and so frequently before her mind;" "a 
recollection," says her biographer, of "great mo- 
ment for the spiritual discernment of the Divine 
wisdom treasured up in this storehouse of practical 
instruction." 

The Book may be divided into three parts, — the 
first extending from the beginning to the close of 
the ninth chapter, and being chiefly confined to the 
conduct of early life ; the second commencing at the 
opening of the ninth chapter, and being evidently 
designed for the use of persons advanced from the 
state of youth to that of manhood; and the third 
part comprising the last seven chapters. 

The scope of this book is to instruct men in the 
deepest mysteries of true wisdom and understanding, 
the height and perfection of which are the true 
knowledge of the Divine will, and the sincere fear 
of the Lord. 



REFERENCES IN PROVERBS. 



iii. 11, 12 ; Heb. xii. 5, 
iii. 21 ; James, iv. 6. 

1 Pet. V. 5. 
X. 12 ; James, v. 20. 



xi. 31 ; 1 Pet. iv. 17, 18. 
xvii. 27 ; James, i. 19. 
XX, 9 ; 1 John, i. 8. 
xxiv. 23 ; James, ii. 1. 



XXV. 6, 7 : Luke, xiv. 8, 10. 
XXV. 21, 22; Rom. xii. 20. 
xxvii. 1 ; James, iv. 13, 14. 



136 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

ECCLESIASTES. 

Ecclesiastes is the twenty-first in the order of 
the books of the Old Testament. The name by 
which the book is known is a Greek word, signify- 
ing a preacher^ or one who harangues a public con- 
gregation. It is generally thought to be the pro- 
duction of Solomon's repentance toward the latter 
end of his life. It proposes the sentiments of the 
Sadducees and Epicureans in their full force ; proves 
conclusively, by a philosophical induction from the 
experience of human life, the vanity of all earthly 
things apart from the possession of the Divine 
favor and the prospects of immortality; the little 
benefit of men's restless and busy cares ; and the 
unsatisfying nature of all their knowledge. In read- 
ing this book, care should be taken not to deduce 
opinions from detached sentiments, but from the 
general scope and combined force of the whole. 

REFERENCE, 
vii. 20 1 Rom. iii. 23. 

The Song or Solomon. 

The Song of Solomon was regarded by the an- 
cient Jews, without exception, as a sacred book. 
Josephus inserts it in his catalogue of sacred books, 
and it is cited as of Divine authority from the ear- 
liest period of the Christian Church. The royal 
author appears, in the typical spirit of his time, to 



THE BOOKS OP THE BIBLE. 



13T 



have designed to render a ceremonial appointment 
descriptive of a spiritual relation ; and this song is 
accordingly considered, by judicious writers, to be a 
mystical allegory of that sort which induces a more 
sublime sense on historical truths, and which, by 
the description of human events, shadows out divine 
circumstances. Much care and judgment are neces- 
sary so to use this part of Divine truth as not to 
abuse it. 

Similar figures are used in Matt. ix. 15 ; xxii. 2 ; 
XXV. 1-11 ; John, iii. 29 ; 2 Cor. xi. 2 ; Ephes. v. 
23, 27; Rev. xix. 7, 9; xxi. 2, 9; xxii. 17. 



REFERENCES IN THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 



i. 4 ; John, vi. 44, 
iv. 7 ; Eph. v. 27. 
T. 2 : Rev. iii. 20. 



vii. 1 ; Is. Iii. 7. 
vii. 1 ; Eph. vi. 15. 
viii ; 11 ; Is. v. 1-T. 



viii. 11 ; Matt. xxi. .3.3. 43. 
viii. 14 ; Eev. xxii. 20. 



PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 

The sixteen following books are prophetical. They 
have received this name because they consist chiefly 
of predictions of future events, although many pas- 
sages, which relate to other subjects — such as the 
nature and attributes of God, the religious and moral 
duties of man, reproofs and exhortations — are found 
interspersed with their predictions. Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel, and Daniel are called the greater, and 
the other twelve the lesser prophets. The language 
12* 



138 THE BOOKS or THE BIBLE. 

of all of them is full of figures, cliiefly borrowed from 
nature. The sun, moon, and steals are often used to 
represent kings, queens, and men in authority, moun- 
tains and JiiUs, kingdoms and cities, marriage, the 
covenant of God, adultery, departure from God to 
idols. Difficulties in understanding the prophecies 
arise from our ignorance of history and Scripture, 
or from the prophecies being yet unfulfilled. We 
shall present a short sketch of these books, together 
"with their authors, in their generally rec eived chro- 
nological order. 

Jonah. 

Jonah, the son of Amittai, was a native of Gathhe- 
pher, m Zebulun or Galilee. He succeeded Elisha as 
the messenger of God to the ten tribes. He probably 
lived in the reign of Jehoahaz, when Hazael was ful- 
filling the predictions of Elisha, 2 Kings viii. 12 ; x. 
32. He foretold the enlarged territory and brief pros- 
perity of Israel under Jeroboam the second, in whose 
reign the prophet himself probably lived. But very 
little is known of his personal history, except w^hat is 
written in the book which bears his name, and of which 
he is generally supposed to have been the author. His 
deliverance from the fish, in whose body he remained 
for three days and three nights, is a w^ell known type 
of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The 
book may be safely placed, perhaps, between B. C. 856 
and 784. 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 139 

Amos. 

The place of this prophet's birth is not known, 
but while employed as a herdsman, he was divinely 
appointed to prophesy against Israel. The time 
and manner of his death are also uncertain. He 
appears to have been contemporary with Hosea, 
and both fulfilled the prophetic ofiice during the 
reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam II. It has been 
remarked as a peculiar feature of his prophecy, 
that it abounds with illustrations drawn from 
husbandry, and the scenes of rustic life, but it cer- 
tainly contains some of the most perfect specimens 
of sublime thought and beautiful expression that are 
to be found in any language. The date generally 
assigned it is B. c. 810-785. 

REFERENCES IN AMOS. 
V. 26, 27 ; Acts vii. 42, 43. | ix. 11, 12 ; Acts xt. 15, 16, 17. 

HoSEA. 

Hosea's prophecy is supposed to have been uttered 
about eight hundred years before Christ. This pro- 
phet was a son of Beeri, and lived in Samaria, and 
his prophecy most probably embraced a period of at 
least eighty years. It was his design to reprove the 
people of Israel for their heinous sins and gross 
idolatry, and to warn Judah against falling into the 
same courses. He is more laconic than any other 



140 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

of the prophets. He writes in short, detached, dis- 
jointed sentences. But to these very circumstances 
does his style owe that eagerness and animation by 
which it is characterized. 



REFERENCES IX HOSEA. 



i. 10, 11 ; Rom. ix. 25, 26. I tI. 6 ; Matt. ix. 13. 



ji. 23 : 1 Pot. ii. 10. 



X. 8; Luke sxiii. 
X. 8; Rev. Ti. 16. 



Isaiah. 



xi. 1 ; Matt. ii. 15. 

xiii. 14 ; 1 Cor. xv. 54, &c. 



Though fifth in the order of time, the writings 
of the prophet Isaiah are jDlaced first in order of 
the prophetical books, principally on account of 
the sublimity and importance of his predictions; 
and partly, also, because the book which bears his 
name is larger than all the twelve minor prophets 
put together. Its references to the advent, offices, 
and kingdom of the Messiah are so numerous and 
exact,- as to have obtained for its author the title of 
the evangelical prophet, and the name Isaiah, {the 
salvation of Jehovah,) indicates the same character- 
istic of this sublime book. Concerning the family 
and descent of this "prince of all the prophets," as 
Bishop Lowth calls him, nothing certain has been 
recorded, except what he himself tells us, (Isa. i. 1,) 
namely, that he Avas the son of Amoz, (not the pro- 
phet,) and discharged the prophetic office "in the 
days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 



141 



of Judahj" wlio successively flourished between A. M. 
3194 and 3305— B. c. 810-698. 



9. Rom. ix. 29. 
vi. 9, &c.; John xii. 40, &c. 
Tii. 14; Luke 1,34. 
Tiii. 14; Luke ii. 34. 
■viii. 18 ; Heb. ii. 13. 
ix. 1, 2 ; Matt. iv. 16. 
ix. 7 ; Luke i. 32, 33. 
xi. 10 ; Rom. xv. 12. 
xiii. 10; Matt. xxiv. 29; 

Mark xiii. 24. 
xxi. 9 ; Rev. xviii. 2. 



REFERENCES IN ISAIAH. 

xxii. 22; Rev. iii. 7. 
XXV. 8 ; 1 Cor. xv. 54. 
xxviii. 11 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 21. 
xxviii. 16 ; Rom. ix. 33. 
xxix. 13; Matt. xv. 8. 
XXXV. 5, 6 ; Matt. ix. 45. 
xL 3 ; Matt. iii. 3 ; Luke 

iii. 4. 
xl. 6 ; 1 Pet, i. 24. 
xiii. 1, Ac: Matt. xii. 18,&c. 
xlv. 9; Rom. ix. 20. 



xlv. 23 ; Rom. xiv. 11. 
xlix. 6; Acts 13, 47. 
liii. ; Matt. xxvi. xxvii. 
liv. 1 ; Gal. iv. 27. 
liv. 13 ; John vi. 45. 
Iviii. 7 ; Matt. xxv. 35. 
lix. 20 ; Rom. xi. 26. 
Ixi. 1 ; Luke iv. 18. 
Ixiii. 1, 2; Rev. xix. 18. 
Ixv. 1 ; Rom. x. 20. 
Ixvi. 24 ; Mark ix. 44. 



Joel. 

Joel, the son of Bethuel, prophesied before the 
subversion of Judah, but when that event was fast 
approaching, in the reign, as some think, of Man- 
asseh, or, according to others, of Josiah : we can- 
not determine, from his predictions themselves, pre- 
cisely the time or reign in which they were de- 
livered. He is said to have been of the city of 
Betharan, in the tribe of Reuben. He is distin- 
guished for the fervor, elegance, and sublimity of his 
style, and his short but sublime work exhibits all 
those characters of energy for which the most illus- 
trious prophets w^ere celebrated, combined with a 
richness of imagery seldom rivalled, and never sur- 
passed. His description of the army of locusts, in 



142 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

ch. 2, and of the eiFusion of the Spirit in ch. 3, have 
no equal. 

REFERENCES IX JOEL. 

ii. 15 ; Matt, xxiv, 29 ; Mark xiii. 24. I ii. 28, 32 ; Acts ii. 16, 21. 
I ii. 32 ; Eom, x. 13, 16. 

MiCAH. 

Micah was a native of Marasha, a village in 
the south of Judah, and is supposed to have pro- 
phesied about B. c. 750. He was commissioned 
to denounce the judgments of God against both 
the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, for their idola- 
try and wickedness. The principal predictions 
contained in this book are, the invasions of Shal- 
manezer and Sennacherib; the destruction of Sa- 
maria and Jerusalem, mixed with consolatory pro- 
mises of the deliverance of the Jews from the Baby- 
lonian captivity; and of the downfall of their Assy- 
rian and Babylonian oppressors; the cessation of 
prophecy in consequence of their continued deceitful- 
ness and hypocrisy, and a desolation in a then dis- 
tant period, still greater than that which was de- 
clared to be impending. The birth of the Messiah 
at Bethlehem is also expressly foretold, and the Jews 
are directed to look to the establishment and extent 
of his kingdom, as an unfailing source of comfort 
amidst general distress. There is likewise given a 
contrasted view of the neglected duties of justice, 
mercy, humility, and piety, with the punctilious ob- 
servance of the ceremonial sacrifices. The style of 
Micah is nervous, concise, and elegant, often ele- 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 143 

vated and poetical, but sometimes obscure from sud- 
den transitions of subject. 

REFERENCES IN MICAH. 

ii. 10 ; Heb. xiii. 13 14. j v. 2 ; Matt. ii. 5, 6 ; John vii. 6 ; Matt. x. 35, 
iv. 7 ; Luke i. 33. vii. 42. 



Nahum. 

Nabum is supposed to bave been a native of 
Elcosb, or Elcosha, a village in Galilee, and to bave 
been of tbe tribe of Simeon. There is great uncer- 
tainty about tbe exact period in wbich he lived, but 
it is generally allowed that be delivered his predic- 
tions between the Assyrian and Babylonian captivi- 
ties, and probably about B. c. 715. They relate solely 
to the destruction of Nineveh by the Babylonians and 
Medes, and are introduced by an animated display 
of the attributes of God. 

Of all the minor prophets, says Bishop Lowth, 
none seems to equal Nahum in sublimity, ardor, and 
boldness. His prophecy forms an entire and regu- 
lar poem. The exordium is magnificent and truly 
august. The preparation for the destruction of 
Nineveh, and the description of that destruction, are 
expressed in the most glowing colors, and at the 
same time the prophet writes with a perspicuity and 
elegance which have a just claim to our highest ad- 
miration. 

REFERENCE IN NAHUM. 
i. 15 ; Rom. x. 10. 



144 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

Zephaniah. 

Zephaniali was the son of Cuslii, and was pro- 
bably of a noble family of the tribe of Simeon. 
He prophesied in the reign of Josiah, about B. c. 
630. He denounces the judgments of God against 
the idolatry and sins of his countrymen, and ex- 
horts them to repentance ; he predicts the pun- 
ishment of the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, 
and Ethiopians, and foretells the destruction of 
Nineveh ; he again inveighs against the corruptions 
of Jerusalem, and with his threats mixes promises 
of future favor and prosperity to his people, whose 
recall from their dispersion shall glorify the name 
of God throughout the world. The style of Ze- 
phaniah is poetical, but it is not distinguished by 
any peculiar elegance or beauty, though generally 
animated and impressive. 

Jeremiah. 

This amiable, but afflicted prophet, was of the 
sacerdotal race. Anathoth, his native place, was 
only three miles north of Jerusalem. Some have 
supposed his father to have been that Hilkiah, the 
high-priest, by whom the book of the law was found 
in the temple in the reign of Josiah ; but for this 
there is no other ground than his having borne the 
same name. 

He appears to have been very young when he 
was called to the exercise of the prophetical office, 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 



145 



from whicli he modestly endeavored to excuse him- 
self by pleading his youth and incapacity ; but being 
overruled by the divine authority, he set himself to 
discharge the duties of his function with unremitted 
diligence and fidelity, during a period of at least 
forty-two years, reckoned from the thirteenth year 
of Josiah's reign. He foretells the destruction of 
Jerusalem, the captivity of the people, (chap. 21, &c.) 
the deliverance of the Church of God at last, and the 
ruin of the enemies of Judah. 

The style of Jeremiah is beautiful and tender to a 
high degree, especially when he has occasion to ex- 
cite the softer passions of grief and pity, which is 
not seldom the case in the first parts of his poetry. 
It is, also, on many occasions, very elegant and 
sublime, especially towards the end, (xlvi. 6.) where 
he approaches even the majesty of Isaiah. The his- 
torical narratives, occasionally introduced, are writ- 
ten in a plain, prosaic style. 

REFERENCES IN JEREMIAH. 



21; Matt. xxi. 33; 
Mark xii. 1; Ltike 
XX. 9. 



Ti. 16 ; Matt. xi. 29. 

Ix. 23, 24 ; 1 Cor. i. 29, 31, 

xviii. 6. Eom. is.. 20. 



xxxi. 15 ; Matt. ii. 17, 18. 
xxxi. 31, &c. ; Heb. Tiii. 
8 &c. Heb. X. 16, 17. 



Lamentations of Jeremiah. 

This book is a kind of appendix to the prophecies 
of the author, of which, in the original Scriptures, it 
formed a part. It expresses with pathetic tender- 
ness the prophet's grief for the desolation of the city 
and temple of Jerusalem, the captivity of the people, 
13 



146 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

the miseries of famine, the cessation of public wor- 
ship, and the other calamities mth which his coun- 
trymen had been visited for their sins. 

The first four chapters of the Lamentations are in 
the acrostic form, every verse or couplet beginning 
with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in regular 
order. The first and second chapters contain twenty- 
two verses, according to the letters of the alphabet, 
the third chapter has triplets, beginning with the 
same letter, and the fourth is like the first two, hav- 
ing twenty-two verses. The fifth chapter is not an 
acrostic. The style of the Lamentations is lively, 
tender, pathetic, and afi'ecting. It was the talent 
of Jeremiah to write melancholy and moving elegies, 
and never was a subject more worthy of tears, nor 
written with more tender and affecting sentiments. 

KEFEREXCE. 
iii. 45 ; 1 Cor. iv. 13. 

Habbakuk. 

This prophet lived in the reign of Jehoiakim, 
and was contemporary with Jeremiah. He is said 
to have prophesied about B. c. 605, and to have 
been alive at the time of the destruction of Jeru- 
salem by Nebuchadnezzar, and it is generally be- 
lieved that he remained and died in Judea. The 
principal predictions contained in the book, are, 
the destruction of Jerusalem, and the captivity of 
the Jews by the Chaldeans or Babylonians, their 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 14T 

deliverance from the oppressor ^' at the appointed 
time," and the total ruin of the Babylonian empire. 
The promise of the Messiah is confirmed, the over- 
ruling providence of God is asserted, and the 
concluding prayer, or rather hymn, recounts the 
wonders which God had wrought for his people, 
when he led them from Egypt into Canaan, and ex- 
presses the most perfect confidence in the fulfilment 
of his promises. 

From chap. ii. 3, 4, we may observe the great 
principle which forms the character of the true ser- 
vant of God in every age — a passage quoted three 
times in the New Testament (Rom. i. T7 ; Gal. iii. 
11 ; Heb. x. 37, 38 ; see, also, Heb. xi ; Gal. ii. 20.) 
This principle will enable us, like Habakkuk, to joy 
even in tribulation. Rom. v. 1-3. 

REFERENCES. 
i. 5 ; Acts xiii. 40, 41, and ii. 3, 4 ; Rom. i. 17. 

Daniel. 

During the captivity of the Jews, this eminent 
prophet was raised up by God to exhibit and up- 
hold the true religion. He was descended from 
the royal family of Judah, and was carried to 
Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem, when 
about 18 or 20 years of age. He was contem- 
porary with Ezekiel, who mentions his extraordi- 
nary wisdom and piety, Ez. xiv. 14, 20. He was 
placed in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, and was 



148 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

afterward raised to great rank and power in the 
courts, both of the Babylonish and the Persian 
princes. He died at a very advanced age, having 
prophesied during the whole period of the seventy 
years' captivity. 

Daniel seems to have been the only prophet who 
enjoyed a great share of worldly prosperity, but, 
amidst the corruptions of a licentious court, he pre- 
served his virtue and integrity inviolate, and no dan^ 
ger or temptation could divert him from the worship 
of the true God. The Book of Daniel is a mixture 
of history and prophecy : in the first six chapters is 
recorded a variety of events which occurred in the 
reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius, 
and, in particular, the second chapter contains Neb- 
uchadnezzar's prophetic dream concerning the four 
great successive monarchies, and the everlasting 
kingdom of the Messiah, which dream God enabled 
Daniel to interpret. In the last six chapters we 
have a series of prophecies, revealed at different 
times, extending from the days of Daniel to the 
general resurrection. The Assyrian, the Persian, 
the Grecian, and the Roman empires, are all parti- 
cularly described under appropriate characters, and 
it is especially declared that the last of them was to 
be divided into ten lesser kingdoms, the time at 
which Christ was to appear is precisely fixed, the 
rise and fall of Antichrist and the duration of his 
power are exactly determined, and the future resto- 
ration of the Jews, the victory of Christ over all his 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 149 

enemies, and the universal prevalence of true reli- 
gion, are distinctly foretold, as being to precede the 
consummation of that stupendous plan of God, which 
^'was laid before the foundation of the world," and 
reaches to its dissolution. 

This book abounds with the most exalted senti- 
ments of piety and devout gratitude ; its style is 
clear, simple, and concise, and many of its prophe- 
cies are delivered in terms so plain and circumstan- 
tial, that some believers have asserted, in opposition, 
to the strongest evidence, that they were written 
after the events which they describe, had taken 
place. 

REFERENCES IN DANIEL, 
vii, 10 ; Rev. v. 11. | ix. 27 ; Matt. xxiv. 15. | xii. 7 ; Rev. x. 5. 

Obadiah. 

It is not quite certain when this prophet lived, 
but it is highly probable that he was contemporary 
with Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who denounced the same 
dreadful judgments on the Edomites, as the punish- 
ment of their pride, violence, and cruel insultings 
over the Jews, after the destruction of their city. 
The prophecy (so Usher) was fulfilled about five 
years after the destruction of Jerusalem. 

The single chapter of which the book consists, di- 
vides into two parts — the judgments denounced on 
the Edomites (v. 1-16) the restoration and future 
prosperity of the Jews (v. 17-21). Though partly 
13* 



150 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

fulfilled in the return of tlie Jews from Babylon, and 
the conquests of the Maccabees over the Edomites 
(1 Mac. V. 3-5, 65, &c.) it is thought to have a fur- 
ther aspect to events still future. 

REFERENCE. 
21; Eev. xi. 15 

EZEKIEL. 

Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, was a priest as well as 
a prophet. He was carried away captive to Baby- 
lon with Jehoiachim, king of Judah, B. c. 598, 
and was placed with many others of his country- 
men upon the river Chebar in Mesopotamia, where 
he was favored with the divine revelations con- 
tained in his book. He began to prophesy in the 
fifth year of his captivity, and is supposed to have 
prophesied about twenty-one years. The boldness 
with which he censured the idolatry and wicked- 
ness of his countrymen is said to have cost him 
his life ; but his memory was greatly revered, not 
only by the Jews, but also by the Medes and Per- 
sians. 

The book may be divided into four parts. 

Part I. contains the glorious appearance of God 
to the prophet, and his solemn appointment to his 
ofi&ce, with instructions and encouragements for the 
discharge of it, ch. i.-iii. 

Part II. contains denunciations against the Jewish 
people, foretelling the total destruction of the tem- 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 151 

pie and city of Jerusalem, and occasionally predict- 
ing another period of yet greater desolation and more 
general dispersion, ch. iv.-xxiv. 

Part III. contains prophecies against various 
neighbouring nations, enemies and oppressors of the 
Jews, ch. xxv.-xxxii. 

Part IV. contains a series of warnings, exhorta- 
tions, and promises to the Jews, of future deliver- 
ance under Cyrus, but principally of their final re- 
storation and conversion under the kingdom of the 
Messiah, ch. xxxiii-xlviii. 

The style of this prophet is characterized by Bi- 
shop Lowth as bold, vehement, and tragical, as often 
worked up to a kind of tremendous dignity. He is 
highly parabolical, and abounds in figures and meta- 
phorical expressions. The middle part of the book 
is in some measure poetical, and contains even some 
perfect elegies, though the thoughts presented are, in 
general, too irregular and uncontrolled to be chained 
down to rule, or fettered by language. 

REFERENCES IN EZEKIEL. 

i. 10; Rev. iv. 7 ; i ix. 6 ; 1 Pet. iv. 17. 1 xviii. 7 ; Matt, xxv, 35. 

ix. 4 ; Rev. vii. 13. | xii. 22 ; 2 Pet. iii. 4. | xxxviii. 2 ; Rev. xx. 8 

Haggat. 

This prophet is generally reputed to have been 
born in the captivity, and to have returned from Baby- 
lon with Zerubbabel. He is the first of the three pro- 
phets who flourished among the Jews after their return 



152 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

to their country, and appears to have been raised up 
by God to exhort Zerubbabel and Joshua, the high 
priest, to resume the work of the temple, which 
had been interrupted nearly fourteen years, by the 
Samaritans and others artfully attempting to defeat 
the edict of Cyrus. This temple is a figure of that 
Church in which the Saviour ever dwells, and which 
shall never be destroyed. 

REFERENCES. 
ii. 6, 7 ; Heb. xii. 26, 27. | ii. 9 ; Jolin i. 14. 

Zechariah. 

The place of Zechariah's birth, and the tribe to 
which he belonged, are equally unknown. He began 
to prophesy about two months after Haggai, in the 
second year of Darius Hystaspes, and continued to 
prophesy about two years. He had the same general 
object with Haggai, to encourage and urge the Jews 
to rebuild the temple, and restore its public ordi- 
nances. A blessing, we are told, attended his minis- 
try. The temple was finished in about six years. 

With this immediate object were connected (as was 
the universal custom of the prophets,) others more 
remote and important. He emblematically describes 
the four great empires (the chariots and horses pro- 
bably representing the Babylonian, Persian, Mace- 
donian, and Roman empires ;) he foretells many cir- 
cumstances respecting the future condition of the 
Jews, and the destruction by the Romans, and with 
these he intersperses many moral instructions and 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 153 

admonitions. He also gives many animating de- 
scriptions of the blessings of the gospel, in the pro- 
mise of the Spirit of grace and supplication, faith in 
the pierced Saviour, and deep repentance, ch. 12, 
and of the fountain for sin and uncleanness, chap. 13. 



REFERENCES IN ZECHARIAH. 



ix, 9 ; Matt. xxi. 4, 5 ; John 

xii. 14, 15. 
xi. 12, 13 i Matt, xxvii. 7,10. 



xii. 10 ; John xix. 34, 37. 
xii. 10 ; Rev. i. 7. 



Malachi. 



xiii. 7 ; Matt. xxvi. 3. 
xiii. 7 ; Mark xiv. 27. 



Malachi, the last of the prophets, completed the 
Canon of the Old Testament Scriptures, about 409 
years B. c, towards the end of the government of 
Ezra and Nehemiah. It has been imagined by some 
writers that Malachi [angel or messenger) was merely 
a general name, expressive of office, and given to 
Ezra, whom they suppose the author of this book. 
Others conceive Malachi to have been an incar- 
nate angel. Such opinions, however, have no good 
ground. 

This prophecy contains sharp rebukes of the sin 
and folly of the Jews, the most glowing representa- 
tions of the Messiah's advent, and predicts the pre- 
paration of His way by the preaching of John the 
Baptist. The nearer the morning approaches, the 
more fully the light shines. 

REFERENCES IN MALACHI. 

iii. 1 ; Mat. xi. 10 ; Mark i. 2 ; Luke vii. I iv. 5. 6 ; Matt. xvii. 10-12 ; Mark ix. 
27. I 11,12; Luke i. 16, 17. 



154 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 



OF THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS. 

These are books not admitted into the Sacred 
Canon, because they are either spurious, or at least 
not admitted to be divine. Their names and number 
are as follows : — the two books of Esdras, Tobit, 
Judith, Esther, the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesias- 
ticus, Baruch, the Song of the Three Children, the 
History of Susannah, Bel and the Dragon, the 
prayer of Manasses, and the four books of the Mac- 
cabees. The word apocrypha is of Greek origin, 
and is either derived from apo tes krwptes, because 
the books in question were removed from the crypt, 
chest, or other receptacle, in which the sacred books 
were deposited, or from apo^ from, and krupto, I 
hide, because they were concealed from the generality 
of readers, their authority not being recognized by 
the Church, and because they are books which are 
destitute of proper testimonials, their original being 
obscure, their authors unknown, and their character 
either heretical or suspected. Some of these books 
are found in Syriac, some in Greek, and some only 
in Latin, while others are extant in all the three lan- 
guages, and also in Arabic. 

" The Apocrypha," says Dr. Gumming," was never 
received or admitted hy the Jews, to whom were 
divinely entrusted the oracles of God, it is not once 
quoted by our Lord, nor by any of the Apostles, as 
a portion of the sacred volume. Josephus, the cele- 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 155 

brated Jewish historian, who ought to know what 
books were recognized bj his countrymen and co- 
religionists, disclaims the Apocrypha as part of the 
Old Testament Scriptures. The Apocrypha was not 
recognised by any of the ancient Christian fathers, 
who are looked up to as being valuable historians, 
however imperfect expositors of Divine Truth. I 
have in my possession the catalogues of Sacred Scrip- 
tures, or canon, as recorded by the ancient fathers 
of the Christian Church. Athanasius, who lived in 
the year 340, rejects the whole of the Apocrypha, 
except one book, which he thinks may be inspired, 
called the Book of Baruch. Hilary, who lived in the 
year 354, rejects all the Apocrypha. Epiphanius, 
who lived in the year 368, rejects it all. The Fathers 
in the Council of Laodicea, a. d. 367, reject all the 
Apocrypha. Gregory of ISTazianzum, who lived in 
370, rejects all. Amphilocius, who lived in 370, also 
rejects all. Jerome, who lived in 392, rejects it all. 
And lastly, Gregory the Great, who is asserted by 
Romanists to have been the first Pope, and who lived 
in 590, rejects the two books of Maccabees, which 
are at this day received by the Roman Catholic 
Church, and in this presents a useful specimen of 
Papal harmony. The Apocrypha, moreover, con- 
tains doctrines totally destructive of morality. For 
instance, in the second book of Maccabees, (xiv. 42), 
we read thus — " Now, as the multitude sought to 
rush into his house, and to break open the door, and 



156 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. 

to set fire to it, when lie was ready to be taken lie 
struck himself with a sword, choosing to die nohly 
rather than to fall into the hands of the wicked, and 
to suifer abuses unbecoming his noble birth." In 
these words there is a distinct eulogium upon suicide; 
it is declared, that the man who rushed unbidden 
and unsent into the presence of his God, " died 
nobly." To such morality as this we find no parallel 
or counterpart in the rest of the sacred volume. 
And, in the same second book of Maccabees, we read 
that " it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for 
the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.'' 
In other portions of the Apocrypha, especially in the 
book of Tobit, which has been received as inspired, 
it is written " that to depart from injustice is to ofi'er 
a 'propitiatory sacrifice for injustice, and is the ob- 
taining of pardon for sins." These and other doc- 
trines, that might be quoted from the Apocrypha, con- 
tradict the plain doctrines of Scripture, and show 
distinctly that these books are not to be confounded 
or identified with the sacred volume, and that, what- 
ever objections may lie against the morality of the 
Apocrypha, these do not militate one jot or tittle 
against the morality of what is reaUy the word of 
God." 



THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE, 



157 



Books of the Old Testament. 



Chapters. 

Genesis 50 

Exodus 40 

Leviticus 27 

Numbers 36 

Deuteronomy 34 

Joshua. . .• 24 

Judges « . . . . 21 

Ruth 4 

1 Samuel 31 

2 Samuel 24 

1 Kino-s 22 



2 Kings 

1 Chronicles . , 

2 Chronicles 

Ezra 

Nehemiah 13 

Esther 10 

Job 42 

Psalms 150 

Proverbs 31 



Chapters. 

Ecclesiastes 12 

Song of Solomon 8 

Isaiah 66 

Jeremiah 52 

Lamentations 5 

Ezekiel 48 

Daniel 12 

Hosea , 14 

Joel 3 

Amos 9 

Obadiah 1 

Jonah 4 

Micah 7 

Nahura 3 

Ilabakkuk 3 

Zephaniah 3 

Ilaggai 2 

Zechariah 14 

Malachi 4 



14 



Its History closes with the Book of 
NEHEMIAH, 
Its Prophecies close with 

MALACHI, 

Who was contemporary with Nehemiah," and lived about 420 
years before Christ. 



THE CANON 



Was probably completed by Siraon tlie Just, High Priest, b. c. 
292. 

Simon added — 

The Chronicles, 

Ezra, 

Nehemiah, 

Esther, 

Malachi. 

Simon was the last survivor of 120 of the Synagogue, ap- 
pointed by Ezra for perfecting the restoration of the Jewish 
Church. 

(158) 



rlji tn M)\x l^t %^M, n hriiig i^t pBrini to- 

1. Civil History of the Jewish Nation. 

Although we have no account of this period in 
Scripture, its events are frequently referred to in 
prophecy, and many of them throw light upon the 
New Testament. The following sketch has for its 
basis, statements which may be found in Josephns 
and the books of the Maccabees. 

' The inspired history leaves the Jews subject to 
the Persians. When that power was overthrown by 
Alexander the Great, B. c. 330, they became subject 
to him, and on his death, to his successors, forming 
a part of the Egyptian monarchy. During thi^ pe- 
riod, many thousands of them were carried into 
Egypt, and their Scriptures were translated into the 
Greek language. After this, the Jews were subject 
to the Syrian monarchy. During this period they 
were so violently persecuted by Antiochus Epiphanes 
(b. c. 168), as to be altogether deprived, for three 
years and a half, of their civil and religious liber- 
ties. He went so far as to dedicate the temple of 

(159) 



160 THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

Jeliovali to Jupiter Olympus, erecting his statue on 
the altar of burnt-offering, and punishing with 
death all that could be found acting contrary to 
his decree ; this rousing theni to resistance, they 
were restored to liberty by the piety and bravery 
of the family of the Maccabees. These princes con- 
tinued to flourish with diminished splendor, and in 
subserviency to the Roman power, till the days of 
Herod, an Idumean by birth, but of the Jewish reli- 
gion, who conquered and deposed the family of the 
Maccabees, and was appointed king of the Jews by 
the Romans. Under him our Lord Jesus Christ 
was born, and then, and not till then, was the power 
of life and death taken away from the Jewish 
nation. 



2. Moral History of the Jewish Nation, 

The interval between the close of the Old Testa- 
ment, and the coming of our blessed Lord, which 
was four hundred years, presents the same illustra- 
tion- of human depravity which the former history 
of the Jews had done. A striking effect of the 
Babylonish captivity was to destroy in that people 
all tendency to idolatry, to which, before that event, 
they had always been so prone, but it presented 
their depravity in a new shape — that of zeal for 
the form of religion, while they denied the power. 
Multiplying human traditions, and teaching for doc- 
trines the commandments of men, they made the 



THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 161 

Word of God of none eiFect ; and neglecting the only 
standard of truth, they were divided into numberless 
sects, and were filled with contempt of each other, 
and of the world around them. Their very teachers 
are described by our Lord as full of hypocrisy and 
iniquity, and their doctrines such as rendered those 
who embraced them twofold more the children of 
hell than before. 

If, with this view of the moral state of the Jews, 
at the time of our Lord's advent, we connect the 
account given of the Gentile world — that, under 
every advantage which the wisdom of this world 
could give, polytheism was increasing among the 
vulgar, while among the learned, the prevailing sys- 
tems of philosophy were the Epicurean and the Aca- 
demic, which struck at the foundation of all religion, 
— we may see at what a crisis of the world's state 
its Redeemer appeared.' 



14* 



lUligintis §tt\B nmnng tjiB Swb, at unit 

1. The Pharisees. 

It is not easy to say wliat was tlieir origin. Some 
have supposed that they sprang from the famed 
Hillel, a doctor of the law, about a hundred and 
fifty years before Christ. They called themselves 
Pharisees^ or Separatists (from the Hebrew word 
P liar ash, which signifies to set apart, or to sepa- 
rate), because they distinguished themselves from 
others in their pretences to strictness. They were 
very numerous and powerful, and the favorite sect 
among the people. They believed in the immor- 
tality of the soul, and the resurrection of the body, 
and future rewards for the righteous, whom they 
reckoned to be only the Jews, and that the souls of 
the wicked went directly to hell at their death, yet 
their bodies never rose again. They looked only 
for a Messiah to be 'a temporal prince, and mighty 
deliverer. They were marked by a supererogatory 
attachment to the ceremonial law, but neglected 
mercy, charity, justice, humility, and the like indis- 
pensable virtues. Under a cloak of religion, some 

(162) 



SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 163 

of them Indulged themselves in cruelty, dishonesty, 
and oppression, even of widows. They were exces- 
sively zealous for the pretended oral law, and the 
superstitious traditions of the elders, and preferred 
them to the oracles of God. By them the Saviour 
was heartily hated and opposed. 

Such was their general character. In some few, 
however, religion was the expression of honest, but 
misguided zeal. — Rom. x. 3. 

2. The Sadducees. 

This sect had their name from one Zadoc or Sad- 
doc, who lived about two hundred and eighty years 
before Christ. His master, Antigonus, taught that 
our service of God should be wholly disinterested, 
proceeding from pure love, without any regard to 
future rewards and punishments. Zadoc, from this, 
took occasion to teach, that there were no rew^ards 
or punishments, nor even life, in a future state. 
The Sadducees believed that God was the only 
immaterial being, and that there was no created 
angel or spirit ; that there was no resurrection 
of the dead. They reckoned a man absolutely 
master of all his actions, and that he needed no 
assistance to do good, or to forbear evil, and so 
were very severe judges. They rejected all tradi- 
tion, and some authors have contended that they 
admitted only the books of Moses ; but there seems 
no ground for this opinion, either in the Scriptures 



164 SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 

or in any ancient •v\Tlter. It is generally believed 
that they expected the Messiah with great impa- 
tience, which seems to imply their belief in the pro- 
phecies, thoLigb they misinterpreted their meaning, 
looking for him as a temporal king, with the hope 
of sharing in his conquests and glory. Josephus 
says, that the Sadducees were able to draw over to 
them the rich only, the people not following them ; 
and he mentions that this sect spread chiefly 
among the young. The Sadducees were far less 
numerous than the Pharisees, but they were, in 
general, persons of great opulence and dignity. 
The council before whom our Saviour and St. Paul 
were carried, consisted partly of Pharisees and 
partly of Sadducees. 

3. The Essenes 

Are reckoned by Philo at 4000, and probably 
owed their origin to Egypt. They maintained that 
religion consisted wholly in contemplation and si- 
lence. As they lived in solitary places, and came 
seldom to the temple or public assemblies, they are 
never mentioned in the New Testament. They be- 
lieved in the immortality of the soul, and the existence 
of angels, and a state of future rewards and punish- 
ments, but scarcely that there would be any resur- 
rection of the dead. They believed everything to 
be ordered by an eternal fatality, or chain of causes. 
They disallowed of oaths, and their word they re- 



SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 165 

garded as fully binding. They observed tbe Sab- 
bath so strictly as not to move a vessel. Some of 
them passed their lives in a state of celibacy. They 
fasted much, lived on very little and simple provi- 
sion. They despised riches and finery of apparel, 
and wore out their clothes before they changed 
them. They were kind to strangers, but admitted 
none into their society till they had given proof of 
their temperance and chastity. They chose rather 
to suffer torture than to speak evil of their legisla- 
tors, Moses, &c., and punished with death such as 
did. They inquired much into the cures of diseases, 
and by means of their temperance many of them 
lived to a great age. In their mode of life they 
seem to have been much like the Shakers of modern 
times. 



The Scribes and Lawyers are often mentioned in 
connection with the foregoing sects, although, 
strictly speaking, they did not form a distinct sect, 
but belonged to all the others. They were learned 
men, and received great deference on that account. 
They were skilful in expounding the law, and upon 
the Sabbath days " they sat in Moses' seat" and in- 
structed the people. They received their name 
from their first employment, — transcribing the law, 
but in progress of time, from their necessary ac- 
quaintance with the Scriptures, they became its 
final expositors. The term lawyer, very probably, 
was of the same import as scribe, although some 



166 SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 

suppose that the Scribes taught in public, while the 
Lawyers taught in private in the schools. 

4. The Galileans. 

This sect arose in Judea some years after the 
birth of our Saviour, and sprang from Judas of Ga- 
lilee (Gamala), who, in " the days of the taxing," 
taught that all foreign domination was unscriptural, 
and that God was the only king of the Jews. Deem- 
ing it unlawful to pray for foreign princes, they 
performed their sacrifices apart. As our Saviour 
and his Apostles were of Galilee, they were sus- 
pected to be of the sect of the Galileans, and it was 
on this principle, we may suppose, that the Phari- 
sees laid a snare for him, asking, " Whether it were 
lawful to give tribute to Csesar ?" that in case he 
denied it, they might have an occasion of accusing 
him 

5. The Herodians. 

This was rather a political than a religious sect. 
What were their distinguishing tenets is not agreed. 
Dr. Prideaux is of the opinion (in which most per- 
sons concur) that they derived their name from 
Herod the Great, and that they were distinguished 
from the other Jews by their concurrence with 
Herod's scheme for subjecting himself and his do- 
minions to the Romans, and likewise by complying 
with many of their heathen usages and customs. 



SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 167 

This symbolizing with idolatry upon views of inte- 
rest and worldly policy, was probably that leaven 
of Herod, against which our Saviour cautioned his 
disciples. It is farther probable that they were 
chiefly of the sect of the Sadducees, because the 
leaven of Herod is also denominated the leaven of 
the Sadducees. 

6. Proselytes. 

The Jews distinguished two kinds of proselytes, 
or strangers, as the word signifies. The first were 
called proselytes of tlie gate. They pledged them- 
selves to renounce idolatry, to worship the true God, 
and to abstain from all heathenish practices. They 
had generally heard of the coming of the Messiah, 
and were free from most of the prejudices of the 
Jews. 

The other class were styled proselytes of justice 
or righteousness. These consisted of such as were 
converted to Judaism, and had engaged to receive 
circumcision, and to observe the whole law of Moses. 
They joined in ofi'ering sacrifices to the God of 
Israel in the outer court of the temple. The Phari- 
sees took great pains to make these proselytes, and 
were aided in their efi"orts by the fading authority 
of the old religions, and the reverence in which the 
God of the Jews was held by the heathen. They 
were often among the bitterest enemies of the Chris- 
tian faith. 



168 SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 

7. The Samaritans. 

This sect had its origin in the time of king Reho- 
boam, under -whose reign the people of Israel -were 
divided into two distinct kingdoms — that of Judah 
and that of Israel. The capital of the kingdom of 
Israel was Samaria, whence the Israelites took the 
name of Samaritans. 

Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, haying besieged 
and taken Samaria, carried away all the people cap- 
tives into the remotest parts of his dominions, and 
filled their place with Babylonians, Cutheans and 
other idolaters. These, finding that they were ex- 
posed to wild beasts, desired that an Israelitish priest 
might be s^nt among them, to instruct them in the 
ancient religion and customs of the land. They now 
embraced the law of Moses, with which they mixed 
a great part of their ancient idolatry ; and in this 
state the sacred narrative leaves them, at least for 
some ages. Upon the return of the Jews from the 
Babylonish captivity, it is thought they had entirely 
abandoned the worship of their idols. But, though 
they were united in religion, they were not so in 
afi'ection with the Jews, for they employed various 
calumnies and stratagems to hinder their rebuilding 
the temple of Jerusalem, and, when they could not 
prevail, they erected a temple on mount Gerizim, in 
opposition to that of Jerusalem. 2 Kings, 17 ; 
Ezra, 4, 5, 6. Other events in no small degree in- 
creased the hatred and animosity between the Sama- 



SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 169 

ritans and the Jews. The Samaritans in the time 
of our Lord, sprang from the colonists with whom 
the Assyrian king peopled Samaria after the ten 
tribes were carried awa}^ Their Bible comprehended 
no more than the five books of Moses. 

There is still a very small remnant of the Samari- 
tan race found in their ancient country. Their prin- 
cipal residence is in that same valley, at the foot of 
the sacred mountain, in which, of old, the city of 
Shechem or Sichem, denominated in later times Sy- 
char (by the Jews, perhaps in malignant derision — 
for Sychar means drunken), had its beautiful re- 
treat, and in that same city, too, though greatly 
altered for the worse, like the whole face of Pales- 
tine, from its ancient state, and divested entirely of 
its original appellation, instead of which it now bears 
the name of Napolose or Nahlous. 

Christians, 

Though not precisely in its chronological order, I 
shall here insert a notice of the origin and import 
of the name by which the followers of Jesus are dis- 
tinguished. " The disciples were called Christians 
first in Antioch." (Acts xi. 26.) Antioch was a 
famous city, built on the river Orontes, and the capi- 
tal of Syria, where the kings of Syria, the succes- 
sors of Alexander the Great, usually resided. There, 
about the year 44, a new term in the vocabulary of 
the human race came into existence. Previously to 
this the followers of Christ were characterized by 
15 



ITO SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 

various names among themselves, such as brethren, 
believers, disciples, and were styled by their ene- 
mies, by way of contempt, l^azarenes and Galileans, 
and persons of " this way." But then the name was 
given them, which has since spread throughout the 
world, far as the gospel is known. The disciples 
were called Christians, that is, the name was given 
by divine appointment, for the word thus rendered, 
generally signifies an oracular nomination, or a de- 
claration from God. It cannot be believed that the 
disciples assumed this new name fii'st themselves, for 
it is not at all probable that they would have ven- 
tured to take a step so important as that of assum- 
ing an appellation by which the Church was to be 
distinguished in all ages, without divine direction, 
especially at a time when the extraordinary gifts of 
the Spirit were so common, and in a Church where 
prophets abounded. Nor is it likely that the Jews, 
knowing that the word " Christ" has the same mean- 
ing with "Messiah," would have used so sacred a 
word to point an expression of mockery and deri- 
sion. There is little doubt, therefore, that the name 
originated with the Gentiles, who began to see now 
that this new sect was so far distinct from the Jews, 
that they might naturally receive a new designation. 
But, whatever the origin of the name, it was clearly 
given by a divine monition. What significance, then, 
is there in the fact that, not in Jerusalem, the city 
of the old covenant, the city of the people who were 
chosen to the exclusion of all others, but in a Ilea- 



SECTS AMONG THE JEWS. 17X 

then city, tlie Eastern centre of Greek fashion and 
Roman luxury, and not until it was shown that the 
New Covenant was inclusive of all others, — that then 
and there God's people were first called Christians, 
and the Church received from the world, under an 
overruling God, its true and honorable name ! Vfhat 
blessed import is there in this name, reminding us, 
as it does, that those who worthily wear it, have, 
from mature deliberation and an unbiassed mind, 
embraced the religion of Christy received his doc- 
trine, believe his promises, and make it their chief 
habitual care to shape their lives by his precepts and 
example ! What sad regrets, too, may I not add, 
does this name inspire, as it bears us back from the 
present divisions of God's people to the happy period 
when the Church of Christ was " one fold under one 
Shepherd," and the seamless coat of the Redeemer 
was of one entire piece from the top to the bottom ! 

" Antioch, thou teacher of the world! 
From out thy portals passed the feet of those 
Who, banished and despised, have made thy name 
The next in rank to proud Jerusalem. 
Within thy gates the persecuted few, 
Who dared to rally round the Holy Cross, 
And worship Ilim whose sacred form it bore. 
Were first called Christians. In thy sad conceit, 
Thou mad'st a stigma of reproach and shame, 
This noblest title of the sons of earth : 
While, save for this, thy name were scarcely known, 
Except among the mouldering vestiges 
Of dim antiquity. So doth our God 
Make all men's folly ever praise His name." 



Biiminnrilij slntrk 

THE JEWS 

Which icere in Palestine, 

Governed hy High Priests, 

subject to 

1. The Persians, 
under Darius ; 

2. To THE Greeks^ 
under Alexander the Gh^eat; 

o. To THE Egyptians, 
under the Ptolemies ; 

4. To TPiE Syrians, 
under Aniiochus, and successors ; 

5. To THE Romans, 
under the Ccesai^s ; 
By whose authority 

The Herods 

EeIGNED as TRIBUTARY KiNGS, 

During these Periods 

Jerusalem was entered 

By Alexander, who offered suitable sacrifices to God in the 

temple. 
By Ptolemy Lagus, who carried 100,000 Jews captive into 

Egypt. 
By Ptolemy Euergetes, who offered grateful sacrifices to God 

in the temple. 
By Ptolemy Philopater, son of the former, who offered in the 
temple, but being refused an entrance into the Huly of 
Holies, treated the Jews with great cruelty. 

( 172 ) 



AFTER CLOSE OF OLD TESTAMENT. 173 

Bj Antioclius Epiphanes, who slew 40,000 Jews, carried 

40,000 away captives, plundered the temple, and defiled 

the Holy of Holies. 
By Antiochus' general, Apollonius, who destroyed all the men 

that escaped not to the mountains, and made slaves of the 

women and children. 



THE MACCABEES, 
or Asmoncean Race, 
Rose up at this time, and MattafJiias, great-grandson of Asmo- 
nocus, retired with his five sons to the mountains, whoso 
exploits are recorded in the book of the Apocrypjha. 

Jerusalem was Entered 

By Pompey, the Roman general, who also entered the Holy 

of Holies. 
By Crassus, governor of Syria, who pillaged the temple of 

10,000 talents of silver, b. c. 54. 



Here ceases 

Profane History, 

And, with the Reigns of The Herods, Begins 

The New Testament. 



15 



€Mi of \\)t fduliB Df tljB J^rirr €rstiimrnl 



Names of Eooks. 


Authors. 


Where written. 


Date, A. D. 


Chap. 


Gospel of MattheWj 










written in He- > 


Matthew. 


Judea. 


37 or 38 


28 


brew. ) 










1 Thessalonians. 


Paul. 


Corinth. 


52 


5 


2 Thessalonians. 


<( 


a 


52 


3 


Galatians. 


<t 


" { 


at the close of 52 
or early in 53 


6 


1 Corinthians. 


<( 


Ephesus. 


56 


16 


Romans. 




Corinth. ■[ 
Macedonia,-) 


end of 57 
or beginning of 58 


16 


2 Corinthians. 


" \ 


or Phil- V 
lippi. ) 


58 


13 


Ephesians. 


tt 


Rome. 


61 


6 


James. 


James. 


Judea. 


61 


5 


Gospel of Mark. 


Mark. 


Rome. 


Between 60 and 63 


16 
4 


Philippians. 


Paul. 


" i 


End of 62 
or beginning of 63 


Colossians. 


a 


a 


62 


4 


Philemon. 


(S 


" { 


End of 62 
or early in 63 


1 


Hebrews. 


(( 


Italy. j 


End of 62 
or early in 63 


13 


Gospel of Luke. 


Luke. 


Greece. 


63 or 64 


24 


Acts of the Apostles. 


" 


a 


63 or 64: 


28 


1 Timothy. 


Paul. 


Macedonia. 


64 


6 


Titus. 


" 


" 


64 


3 


1 Peter. 


Peter. 


Rome. 


64 


5 


2 Peter. 


" 


'< 


Beginning of 65 


3 


Jude. 


Jude. 


Unknown. 


64 or 65 


1 


2 Timothy. 


Paul. 


Rome. 


65 


4 


1 John. 


John. 


Probably j 
Ephesus. J 


68 
or early in 69 


5 


2 and 3 John. 


(t 


Ephesus. 1 


68 
or early in 69 


1 


Revelation. 


t( 


Patmos. 


Probably in 96 


22 


Gospel of John. 


SI 


Ephesus. 


97 or 98 


21 



(174 



€\)t Sknks nf tjir $tm f rstniiini 



" The sacred page 
With calm attention scan ! If on thy soul, 
As thou dost read, a ray of purer light 
Break in, check it not, give it fall scope ! 
Admitted, it will break the clouds which long 
Have dimmed thy sight, and lead thee, till at last 
Convictions, like the sun's meridian beams, 

Illuminate thy mind." 

The Books of the New Testament may be divided 
into three classes : — Historical, Doctrinal, and Pro- 
phetical. Of the first description are the four Gos- 
pels and the Acts of the Apostles; of the second,, 
the Apostolic Epistles ; and of the third, the Book 
of Revelation. All these books, however, are of a 
mixed nature, and contain history, prophecy, and 
doctrine. 

The religious institution of Jesus Christ, says Dr. 
Campbell, is frequently denominated kaine diatheke, 
which is almost always rendered the New Testament, 
yet the w^ord diatheke by itself, is generally trans- 
lated covenant. It is the Greek word whereby the 
Seventy have uniformly translated the Hebrew word 

(175) 



176 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

BeritJi, "vyliicli our translators liave invariably trans- 
lated covenant. That the Hebrew term corresponds 
much better to the Eoglish word covenant than to 
testament, there can be no question, yet the word 
diatheke in classical use is more frequently rendered 
Testament. As the word Testament implies that, in 
the Gospel unspeakable gifts are bequeathed to us, 
antecedent to all conditions required of us-, this title 
may be retained, though that of covenant is more 
exact and proper. 

The term New is added, to distinguish it from the 
old covenant, that is, the dispensation of Moses. 
The two covenants are always in Scripture the two 
dispensations : that under Moses is the old, that un- 
der the Messiah is the new. 

The term Gospel denotes the revelation of the 
grace of God to fallen man through a mediator. It 
is taken also for the history of the life, actions, 
'death, resurrection, ascension, and doctrine of Jesus 
Christ. The word is compounded of two Saxon 
words: — Grod, "good," and spell, a ''message," 
or "tidings," and thus corresponds to the Greek 
Eva^^ysXiov, which signifies a joyful message, or good 
news. "VYhen the word stands connected with the 
name of either of the Evangelists, it denotes that the 
book bearing that name was written by that Evan- 
gelist. For example, when we meet with the ex- 
pression the Grospel according to Ilatthew, we are 
to understand this as meaning, the history of Jesus 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 177 

Christ the Son of God, and an account of the salva- 
tion offered by and through him, as the same was 
prepared under the guidance of the Holy Ghost by 
Matthew, one of our Saviour's disciples. 

The Gospel of Matthew. 

This Apostle was surnamed Levi, and was the son 
of Alpheus, a native of Galilee. Our Lord called 
him from the receipt of custom, and he was there- 
fore a publican or tax-gatherer. He was an attend- 
ant on our Saviour during the whole time of his 
ministry, was constituted an Apostle, and after the 
ascension he continued at Jerusalem, with the rest 
of the Apostles, till the day of Pentecost. What 
became of him after this period, we know not. His 
gospel, which is placed first in all the collections of 
the sacred books, is almost universally allowed to 
have been the earliest written. Its precise date is 
difficult of determination. The earliest period as- 
signed to it is 37, the latest 64. The earlier date 
is probably to be preferred. 

The Gospel op Mark. 

Mark was a Jew, although he bears a Roman 
name. He was the nephew of Barnabas, being his 
sister's son. He is supposed to have been converted 
to the Gospel by Peter, who calls him his son, 
(1 Pet. V. 13) but no circumstances of his conver- 
sion are recorded. He was called first John, and 



178 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

afterwards Mark, but some have entertained doubts 
whether this were the same person of whom mention 
is made in the Acts and some of Paul's Epistles, un- 
der these two names. He was not an Apostle, but 
is said to have been the constant attendant of Petey, 
and to have composed his narrative with his appro- 
bation. Different persons have assigned different 
dates to this Gospel ; but it is probable that the pub- 
lication of it should be placed about A. D. 63-65. 

The Gospel of Luke. 

This Evangelist bears the same relation to Paul 
as Mark did to Peter, having been a companion and 
assistant to that apostle, and writing his gospel un- 
der his direction. He is supposed to have been a 
native of Antioch, descended from Jewish parents, 
and by profession a physician. The time when he 
published his Gospel is referred by some to the year 
53, and by others to the year 63 or 64. Luke seems 
to have had more learning than any other of the 
evangelists, and his language is more varied, copi- 
ous, and pure. His gospel contains many things 
which are not contained in the other gospels. 

The Gospel of John. 

The last gospel, it is acknowledged by all the an- 
cients, was written by John. He was one of the 
sons of Zebedee, is frequently mentioned in the 
evangelical history, and is distinguished from the 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 179 

otlier apostles as ^'the disciple whom Jesus loved." 
We may conceive liim, therefore, while employed in 
compiling this book, not only to have obeyed the im- 
pulse of inspiration, but to have experienced the 
melting tenderness of heart with wdiich a person re- 
cords the actions and sayings of a friend. Some 
have assigned, as the date of his gospel, the year 
68, 69, or 70 ; others have supposed it to have been 
written about the year 97 or 98, after he had returned 
from Patmos, to vfhich he w^as banished by the em- 
peror Domitian. It contains many of our Lord's 
discourses, not included in the other gospels, and 
opposes several heresies then springing up respect- 
ing the person of Christ, whom it proves, in the 
plainest manner, to be both God and man. 

The Acts or the Apostles. 

That the Evangelist Luke was the author of this 
book, is affirmed by the voice of antiquity, and also 
demonstrated from its introduction. The history 
which it contains comes down to the end of the two 
years of Paul's imprisonment at Rome, soon after 
which he was set at liberty in the year 63, and it is 
probable that about this time the book was written. 
This is the only inspired work which gives us any 
historical account of the progress of Christianity 
after our Saviour's ascension. It comprehends a 
period of about thrrt}^ years ; but it by no means con- 
tains a general history of the Church during that 
time. The principal facts recorded in it are, the 



180 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

choice of Matthias to be an apostle, in the room of 
the traitor Judas ; the descent of the Holy Ghost on 
the day of Pentecost; the preaching, miracles, and 
sufferings of the apostles at Jerusalem ; the death 
of Stephen, the first martyr ; the persecution and 
dispersion of the Christians ; the preaching of the 
gospel in different parts of Palestine, especially in 
Samaria ; the conversion of Paul ; the call of Cor- 
nelius the first Gentile convert ; the persecution of 
the Christians- by Herod Agrippa ; the mission of 
Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles, by the express 
command of the Holy Ghost; the decree made at 
Jerusalem, declaring that circumcision and a confor- 
mity to other Jewish rites and ceremonies, were not 
necessary in Gentile converts ; and the latter part of 
the book is confined to the history of Paul, of whom 
Luke was the constant companion for several 
years. 

The Epistles. 

The Epistles are letters which were written and 
sent by the Apostles to the churches of Christ, or to 
particular persons. Twenty-one of the books of the 
New Testament are called epistles. The first four- 
teen were written by Paul; the other seven were 
written, one by James, other two by Peter, three by 
John, and one by Jude. Why these last seven are 
called general is not easily determined, whether be- 
cause the first four of them and the last were written 
to no particular church, or because they easily met 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 181 

with a general reception among Christians ; but as 
the character does not seem to be of inspired autho- 
rity, we need give ourselves the less trouble to know 
the reason of it. 

In reading an epistle, we ought to consider the 
occasion of it, the circumstances of the parties to 
whom it was addressed, the time w^hen written, the 
general scope and design of it, as well as the inten- 
tion of particular arguments and passages. We 
ought, also, to observe the style and manner of the 
writer, his mode of expression, the peculiar effect he 
designed to produce on those to whom he wrote, to 
whose temper, manners, general principles, and ac- 
tual situation, he might address his arguments, &c. 
It may be added that the epistles afford many and 
most powerful evidences of the truth of Christianity, 
inasmuch as they appeal to a great number of ex- 
traordinary facts, and allude to principles, and opin- 
ions, as admitted, or as prevailing, or as opposed, 
among those to whom they are addressed. We shall 
notice the Epistles in the order in which they stand 
in the New Testament. 

Romans. 

This epistle was written to Christians whom the 
Apostle Paul had not yet seen, who lived at Rome, 
which was then the chief city of the whole world. 
It was written A. D. 57, or 58, in Corinth. Tertius 
was Paul's secretary on this occasion. In it, the 
Apostle, after assuring the Christian Church, to 
16 



182 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT* 

which he wrote, of his regard for them, describes the 
deplorably corrupt state of all men by nature, 
whether Grentiles or Jews, and the impossibility of 
justification before God by works of our own ; he 
shows that, as in Adam we are all counted sinners, 
so in Jesus Christ we are first in order rendered 
righteous in justification, and then made holy in 
sanctification. After rehearsing several of the 
happy fruits of our union with Christ, such as free- 
dom from the law, and from the power of sin, adop- 
tion into the family of God, possession of his in- 
dwelling spirit, assurance of his love, perpetual care 
of his Providence, and endless enjoyment of his pre- 
sence, he treats of the purpose of election, and of 
God's sovereignty in rejecting the Jews, and calling 
the Gentiles to a state of church-membership, and 
foretells the happy state of both Jews and Gentiles 
in the promised millennium, chaps, i-xi. In the last 
part he applies his subject, exhorting to a variety of 
duties towards God, towards each other, towards 
magistrates, weak brethren, and ministers, and con- 
cludes with several salutations, and a warning against 
schism, chaps, xii-xvi. 

Dr. Macknight says of this epistle, that, ''for 
sublimity and truth of sentiment, for brevity and 
strength of expression, for regularity in its struc- 
ture, but, above all, for the unspeakable importance 
of the discoveries which it contains, it stands unri- 
valled by any mere human composition, and as far 
exceeds the most celebrated productions of the 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 183 

learned Greeks and E-omans, as tlie shining sun ex- 
ceeds the twinkling of the stars." 

First and Second Corinthians. 

Corinth, the capital of Achaia, was situated on 
the isthmus which separates the Peloponnesus from 
Attica. This city was one of the most populous, 
and wealthy, and renowned of all Greece. It was 
scarcely less celebrated for the learning and inge- 
nuity of its inhabitants, than for the extent of its 
commerce, and the magnificence of its buildings. 
The lustre, however, which this famous city derived 
from the number and genius of its population, was 
greatly tarnished by their debauched manners. 
Here the great Apostle of the Gentiles came to 
preach the Gospel, in the year of Christ 52, and 
here he continued nearly two years, encouraged by 
the Divine presence and blessing upon his ministry, 
converting numbers to the faith of Christ, wdiom he 
formed into a Christian church. To this church, 
after his departure, he WTOte his two epistles, the 
one in the year 56 or 57, the other in the following 
year. In the first, he corrects abuses, arising from 
the conduct of false teachers, and gives advice in 
some particular cases which had been submitted to 
him. In the second, he defends himself from 
charges falsely made against him, exhorts to refor- 
mation, and threatens the impenitent. 



184 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
G-ALATIANS. 

Galatia was a province in Asia Minor. In tliis 
province the Gospel was early preached by Paul, 
and churches were established. In the Acts of the 
Apostles we learn that he visited this country more 
than once, the first time about the year 50 (Acts 
xvi. 6), and the second, about the year 54 or 55. 
The date of his Epistle to the Galatians is very un- 
certain, and it has been assigned to almost every 
year between 48 and 52. It probably was written 
between his two visits, at the end of 52, or begin- 
ning of 53. His main object throughout nearly the 
whole of it is, to counteract the pernicious influence 
of the doctrine of false teachers, particularly as it 
respected the article of justification, or a sinner's 
acceptance before God. And in no part of the 
Apostle's writings is that important doctrine handled 
in a more full and explicit manner, nor does he any 
where display such a firm, determined, and inflexi- 
ble opposition to all who would corrupt the truth 
from its simplicity. 

Ephesians. 

Ephesus was a much celebrated city of Ionia, in 
Asia Minor, forty-five miles south-east of Smyrna, 
situated upon the river Cayster, and on the side of 
a hill five miles from the sea. It was formerly in 
great renown among heathen authors on account of 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 185 

its famous temple of Diana. The Apostle visited 
this populous city, A. D. 54, but being then on his 
way to Jerusalem, he abode there only a few weeks, 
Acts, 18 : 19-21. During his short stay, he found 
a synagogue of the Jews, into which he went, and 
reasoned with them on the interesting topics of his 
ministry, with which they were so pleased that they 
wished him to prolong his visit. This invitation he 
declined, as he had determined, God willing, to be 
at Jerusalem at an approaching festival ; but he pro- 
mised to return, and did so a few months afterwards, 
and continued there three years, Acts xix. 10, 20, 31. 
Such was the success of the Gospel, that magical 
books to the value of more than thirty thousand 
dollars were burnt by the converted Ephesians. 
The Epistle to them was written during the Apos- 
tle's imprisonment in Rome, probably in the year 
61. It breathes nothing but affection. The first 
three chapters contain the doctrines, and the last 
three the practice of the Gospel. The order in 
which doctrine and practice are delivered, and the 
connection between both, are instructive. As Paul 
was exceedingly rejoiced at the happy intelligence 
he had received of the faith and holiness of the 
Ephesian Church, the style of his Epistle to them 
is very animated. "No real Christian," says Dr. 
Macknight, "can read the doctrinal part of this 
Epistle without being impressed and roused by it 
as by the sound of a trumpet." 
16* 



186 the books of the new testament. 

Philtppians. 

Philippi was a city of Macedonia, so called from 
Philip, king of Macedon, who repaired and beautified 
it, whence it lost its former name Dathos. Paul 
here introduced the gospel, A. D. 52. The Philip- 
pians seem to have conceived a very strong afiection 
towards him, which they showed by their generous 
contributions. This Epistle was written by Paul, 
from Rome, during his imprisonment, in the year 62 
or 63. The design is altogether practical, and seems 
to have been, " to comfort the Philippians under 
their concern at his imprisonment ; to check a party 
spirit that appeared to have broken out among them ; 
and to promote, on the contrary, an entire union and 
harmony of afi*ection ; to guard them against being 
seduced from the purity of the faith by Judaizing 
teachers, to support them under the trials with which 
they struggled, and, above all, to inspire them with 
a concern to adorn their profession by the most emi- 
nent attainments in the divine life." 

COLOSSIANS. 

Colosse, a city of Phrygia Minor, stood on tho 
river Lyceus, at an equal distance between Laodicea 
and Hierapolis. The proximity of these three cities, 
accounts for the fact that Paul, when writing to his 
Christian brethren in the first, mentions all the 
places in connection with each other. The date of 
this epistle is about the same with that to the Ephc- 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 187 

sians. Between these two epistles there is a strong 
resemblance, both in sentiment and expression ; so 
much so, that Michaelis remarks : " Whoever would 
understand these epistles must read them together, 
for the one is in most places a commentary upon the 
other — the meaning of single passages in one epistle, 
which alone might be variously interpreted, being 
determined in parallel passages in the other epistle." 



1st and 2d Thessalonians. 

Thessalonica, the capital city of Macedonia, stood 
upon the Thesmaic sea. It was anciently called 
Halis and Thermos, but Philip, the father of Alex- 
ander the Great, named it Thessalonica, to com- 
memorate his victory over the Thessalians. A Chris- 
tian Church was first established in Thessalonica by 
Paul, about A. D. 50. His first epistle was written 
to them, from Corinth, in the year 52. It is gene- 
rally believed that the messenger who carried this 
epistle into Macedonia, upon his return to Corinth, 
informed Paul that the Thessalonians had inferred, 
from some expressions in it, that the coming of 
Christ and the final judgment were near at hand, and 
would happen in the time of many who were then 
alive (1 Thess. iv. 15, 17 ; v. 5). The principal de- 
sign of the second epistle, which w^as written soon 
after the first, was to correct that error, and prevent 
the mischief Avhich it would naturally occasion. 



188 THE BOOKS or the new testament. 

1st and 2d Timothy, 

There is much, dispute about the date of the foi-mer 
of these Epistles, which has been fixed to the years 
57 and 64. The latter was written while Paul was 
in bonds, but whether during his first or second im- 
prisonment, is doubtful. Timotheus, commonly called 
Timothy, was a native of Lystra, a city of Lycaonia, 
in Asia Minor. His father was a Gentile, but his 
mother was a pious Jewess, who carefully and dili- 
gently instructed his infant mind in the truths of the 
Old Testament. (Acts xvi. 1-3 ; 2 Tim. i. 5). Paul 
calls him his " own son in the faith," from which ex- 
pression it is inferred that he was converted under 
Paul's ministry. After being regularly appointed to 
the ministerial office, and laboring some time with 
Paul, Timothy was set over the Church of Ephesus. 
The first epistle was written to assist him in the duty 
of watching over that church, and it is usefal for the 
direction of the ministers of the Church, in the dis- 
charge of their office, to the end of time. The 
second was written, probably near the close of Paul's 
life, to exhort Timothy to endure persecutions with 
courage, and to caution him against false teachers. 

Titus. 

It is not known when, or where, the Epistle to 
Titus was composed, and several years have been 
mentioned from 52 to 64. Titus was a Greek, and 
was probably converted to Christianity by Paul, 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 189 

though the time of his conversion is not known. He 
is first mentioned as going from Antioch to the coun- 
cil at Jerusalem, A. D. 49 (Gal. ii. 1, &c.), and upon 
that occasion Paul says that he would not allow him 
to be circumcised, because he was born of Gentile 
parents. After accompanying Paul for some time, 
as a partner and fellow-helper (2 Cor. viii. 23). 
Titus was left at Crete, an island in the Mediter- 
ranean sea, which is now called Candia. In this 
epistle there was given him important advice respect- 
ing the instruction and regulation of the Church at 
that place, which is applicable to ministers of the 
gospel in every age. 

Philemon. 

Philemon was a rich citizen of Colosse, in Phrygia. 
He and his wife Apphia were very early converted 
to the Christian faith by Paul or Epaphras, and the 
Christians held their meetings in his house. His 
slave, Onesimus, having eloped from him, and come 
to Rome, was converted by Paul's ministry, and was 
very useful to him in his imprisonment. Paul sent 
him back with this recommendatory letter, request- 
ing Philemon to forgive him, and charge what he 
might have wronged him to Paul's own account. 
The epistle was probably written in the year 62. Its 
tenderness and delicacy have been long admired. 
Some passages in it are most touching and persua- 
sive. Yet the character of Paul prevails in it through- 
out. The warm, affectionate, authoritative teacher 



190 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

is interceding with an absent friend for a beloved 
convert. 

Hebrews. 

Though the authorship of this epistle has been dis- 
puted, both in ancient and modern times, its anti- 
quity has never been questioned. Some have been 
led by the fact of the absence of the usual apostoli- 
cal introduction, to question whether it is an epistle, 
or a treatise upon the subjects to which it refers, but 
the characteristics of an epistle are evidently seen in 
it. With regard to the autlior, the weight of evi- 
dence preponderates greatly in favor of Paul. It 
must have been written after his release from prison, 
in the year 62 or 63. It is generally believed to 
have been intended for the use of the Jewish con- 
verts in Palestine, who were called Hebrews, to dis- 
tinguish them from Jews in foreign' countries, who 
were styled Hellenists and Grecians. " The Epistle 
to the Hebrews," Dr. Hales observes, '' is a masterly 
supplement to the epistles to the Romans and Gala- 
tians, and, also, a luminous commentary on them, 
showing that all the legal dispensation was originally 
designed to be superseded by the new and better 
covenant of the Christian dispensation, in a con- 
nected chain of argument, evincing the profoundest 
knowledge of both." "We here find the great doc- 
trines which are set forth in other parts of the New 
Testament, stated, proved, and applied to practical 
purposes, in the most impressive manner." 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 191 



There was another person of this name, who was 
the brother of John, and was put to death by Herod ; 
but this James, whose name the epistle bears, was 
the son of Alpheus, or Cleophas, and is called the 
brother of our Lord, because he was nearly related 
to him. He is sometimes called James the Just, this 
honorable title having been given to him, for the dis- 
tinguished holiness of his life. He is said to have 
resided much in Jerusalem, where he wrote this 
epistle, it is supposed, in the year 61, and suffered 
martyrdom in the year 62. Dr. Harwood pro- 
nounces this epistle to be one of the finest and most 
finished productions of the New Testament. The 
diction is very neat, chaste, and correct ; the periods 
are pure and perspicuous ; the composition is ele- 
gantly concise and sententious ; and the sentiments 
are noble and instructive. The epistle contains an 
excellent summary of those practical duties and 
moral virtues which are required of Christians. 
Paul proves, against the self-righteous, that man is 
saved by faith, and James proves, against the licen- 
tious, that the faith which saves will ever lead men 

* This Epistle, the two of Peter, the First of John, and the 
Epistle of Jude, are known under the appellation of The 
Catholic Epistles, and were so denominated, as some sup- 
pose, because addressed, not to people dwelling in one place, 
but to the Jews dispersed through all the countries in the 
Koman empire. 



192 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

to obey God, and produce good -works, whicli are 
faitli's proper expression and attestation. 

First and Second Peter. 

The first of these Epistles was written to the Chris- 
tians in the difi'erent provinces of Asia Minor. It 
■was sent from Babylon, by which some understand 
the mystical Babylon, or the city of Kome ; but for 
this opinion there are not satisfactory reasons. In 
whatever place it was written, it is assigned to the 
year 64. The second epistle seems to have been 
written not long after, for the Apostle signifies that 
his death was near, which is said to have taken 
place in the year Q^. In the former, regard was 
principally had to the Jewish converts, to edify and 
comfort them in their afflictions. In the latter, be- 
lievers were warned against false prophets, who per- 
verted the gospel, and were exhorted not only to 
stand fast in the faith, but, also, to grow in grace. 

The Three Epistles of John. 

Although the name of the Apostle John is not 
prefixed to, or contained in, these epistles, they have 
been invariably, and with unquestionable correct- 
ness, ascribed to him from the first ages. Various 
dates have been assigned to the first epistle, from 
the year 68 to 92. The second and third have been 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 193 

referred to the year 69. The first was designed to 
refute certain heresies which had come to prevail, 
such as the denial of the real deity and proper hu- 
manity of Christ, and of the reality and efficacy of 
his sufferings and death, as an atoning sacrifice, and 
the assertion that believers, being saved by grace, 
were not required to obey the commandments of God. 
The second was written to some lady of rank and 
piety, to encourage her to persevere in the truth and 
love of God, and to exhort her to beware of those 
heretics who denied the incarnation of Christ. The 
third was written to Gaius, a man of great wealth, 
piety, and hospitality, to request him to help for- 
ward some missions among the Gentiles. 

The Epistle of Jude 

Jude, or Judas, who was surnamed Thaddeus, and 
Lebbeus, was the son of Alphoeus and Mary, and 
brother of James the Less, and one of the twelve 
apostles. His epistle was written, probably, be- 
tween A. D. 64 and 70. It was not, as is commonly 
thought, addressed to any one church in particular, 
but was a general letter to all believers. It was de- 
signed to guard believers against the false teachers 
who had begun to insinuate themselves into the 
Christian Church, and to urge them to contend with 
the utmost earnestness for the true faith, against the 
dangerous opinions such teachers promulgated, 
making religion to consist in a bare speculative 
belief, and an outward profession of the gospel. 
17 



194 THE BOOKS OP THE NEW TESTAMENT. 



The Eevelation. 

Besides his gospel, and three epistles, the Apostle 
John was the author of this last book of the New 
Testament, to which the word Apocalypse, signify- 
ing revelation, is particularly applied. It was writ- 
ten about the year 96. John was banished to Pat- 
mos by Domitian, from which he was permitted to 
return after the death of that emperor, which hap- 
pened about the time just mentioned. In his exile 
the Apostle was favored with the appearance of the 
Lord Jesus Christ to him, and was repeatedly com- 
manded to commit to writing the visions which he 
beheld. The design of the book is two-fold : first, 
generally to make known to the Apostle " the things 
which are," that is, the then present state of the 
Christian churches in Asia, and, secondly, and prin- 
cipally, to reveal to him " the things which shall be 
hereafter," or the constitution and fates of the 
Christian Church, through the several periods of 
propagation, corruption, and amendment, from its 
beginnings to its consummation in glory. " To ex- 
plain this book perfectly," says Bishop Newton, "is 
not the work of one man, or of one age, but proba- 
bly it never will be clearly understood, till it is all 
fulfilled." It is graciously designed that the gra- 
dual accomplishment of these predictions should 
afford, in every succeeding period of time, additional 
testimony to the divine origin of our holy religion. 



THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 195 

Thus, as we liave observed, in advancing, if Jesus 
appears to us in the gospels, as a weeping babe, a 
man of sorrows, and a writhing sufferer, we see him 
in the closing book of the canon, a glorious con- 
queror, Avith prostrate saints adoring him, and many 
crowns upon his head. Thus, too, is it seen, that if 
God's Book began with a record of Paradise lost, it 
ends with more than Paradise regained. 

"As through the artist's intervening glass 

Our eyQ observes the distant planet pass, 

A little we discover, but allovp- 

That more remains unseen than art can show; 

So, whilst our mind its knowledge would improve, 

(Its feeble eje intent o-n things above,) 

High as we may lift our reason up, 

By Faith directed, and confirmed by Hope ; 

Yet we are able only to survey 

Dawnings of beams, and promises of day. 

Heaven's fuller effluence mocks our dazzled sight; 

Too great its swiftness, and too strong its light; 

But soon the 'mediate clouds shall be dispelled, 

The Sun shall then be face to face beheld, 

In all his robes, with all his glory on. 

Seated sublime on his meridian throne." 



5* 



Like all other ancient writings, the Holy Scrip- 
tures present many difficulties. Some of these are 
not easy of solution, while others may be satisfac- 
torily explnined. The existence of difficulties in 
such a book was to be expected, and therefore can- 
not be wondered at. It is a matter of astonishment, 
indeed, that more are not to be found in it. This 
must be evident to any one, on reflecting that " the 
books of Scripture were written by different persons, 
in almost every variety of circumstance ; that they 
refer to people whose customs and habits were to- 
tally dissimilar to our own ; that they narrate histo- 
ries of which we possess no other authentic docu- 
ments, which might reflect light on some obscurity 
of expression or vagueness of description; that they 
were written in other languages than those in which 
we now possess them; and that, in addition to the 
mutability of language, there are the difficulties of 
translation out of one tongue into another." 

The proper spirit in which to deal with these dif- 
ficulties is, to remove them as far as this is practi- 
cable, and to cleave and submit to the truth, even 
when every cloud cannot be cleared away from it. 

(190) 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 197 

We should imitate tlie example of the Apostles, who, 
when some of the disciples were offended by what 
they called a " hard saying," so as to forsake Christ, 
silenced every objection with this — " Lord, to whom 
shall Yfe go ? thou hast the words of eternal life, 
and we believe, and are sure, that thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God." When Moses 
saw an Egyptian fighting with an Israelite, and try- 
ing to destroy him, he slew the Egyptian and let 
the Israelite go. When he saw an Israelite fighting 
with an Israelite, he separated them and made them 
friends. Even so, whenever and wherever we see 
an error assaulting or overlaying a truth, let us de- 
stroy the error and emancipate the truth ; but when 
w^e see a truth seemingly in conflict with a truth, 
let us reconcile them, and show them thus reconciled 
to all. 

Difficult Texts Explained. 

Genesis, i. 1. "7/i the heginning, (&c." It is not said whe- 
ther this "beginning" was the commencement of time, or for 
back of the creation of man, and long before the present geo- 
logical period. 

Gen:esis, i. 5. "And God called the liglitday, &cJ' Though 
the sun was not made until the fourth day, it is not true that 
there could be no day without the sun, as some have affirmed. 
By recent discoveries (or rather, the recent revival of old 
ones) we are taught to believe that light does not consist in 
certain particles coming to us in a direct ray from the sun, 
or any other luminous body ; but is a subtle fluid diffused 
ihrough all space, and capable of being acted on in a thou- 

17* 



198 SCEIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

sand various ways. It is not said that the sun, as a body, 
was created on the fourth day, but only that it was then ap- 
pointed for a special purpose 

Genesis, i. 26. " Let us make man in our oivn image, d^c," 
that is, naturally, in spirituality and immortality ; morally, in 
" righteousness and true holiness," and politically, as having 
dominion over all the earth. 

Genesis, ii. 3. *' He had rested from all Jiis works, &c." 
This refers to God's cessation from creating and making; and, 
John, V. 7, refers to the ceaseless workings of providence. 

Genesis, ii. 5. ^^And there was not a man to till the ground.'' 
This verse is not contradictory to chap. i. 27, where the crea- 
tion of Adam had been already affirmed. The inspired his- 
torian first gives a general account of the whole creation, in 
six days, and then, carrying on his history, describes parti- 
cularly the formation of Adam and Eve. 

Genesis, iv. 6. ** Cain went out from the presence of tlie 
Lord-J' that is, went out from the place of worship and of 
Divine manifestation. 

Genesis, iv. 7. ^^ If thou doest well, shalt thou not le accept, 
ed f" &€. Sacrifices were of two sorts, eucharistical and ex- 
piatory ; the former consisting of the fruits of the earth, the 
latter of a living animal, the life of which God would accept 
instead of that of the offender. Abel brought a sacrifice of 
atonement, acknowledging himself a sinner. Cain brought 
a sacrifice of thanksgiving, expecting to be accepted with- 
out repentance. God thus expostulates with Cain: "If 
thou wert so righteous as to need no atoning sacrifice, thou 
shouldst be accepted ; as thou art not, sin will lay in the way 
till thou hast removed it by an atoning sacrifice of sin- 
oflPering.'' 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 199 

Genesis, iv. 17. ^^ And Cain knew Ids wife, &cJ' It is as- 
serted that Adam "begat sons and daughters/' (Gen. v. 4,) 
meaning, doubtless, sons and daughters not named in any 
catalogue of his children. Nor did Cain sin by marrying his 
sister, as there was a necessity for such marriages at the 
time, and the law forbidding them had not been given. 

Genesis, iv. 26. ** Then began men to call ^ipon ilic name of 
the Lord.'' Men had begun to do so before. Dr. Boothroyd, 
and others, translate the passage, " Then began men to bo 
called by the name of Jehovah.'' 

Genesis, vi. 3. "if?/ spirit shall 7iot alioays strive loith man" 
Not always ^7eacZ with man on account of his errors, for ho 
is flesh, yet his days shall be 120 years. — Dr. Boothroyd. 

Genesis, vi. 6. ^' And it repented the Lord that he had made 
man" &c. God accommodates his language to our concep- 
tions, that we may more easily apprehend his character and 
perfections. Here, the cause is put for the effect, by a well 
known figure of speech, and the change of His mind signifies 
merely a change of dispensation. The repentance was only 
apparent. 

Genesis, ix. 25. " And Noah said, cursed he Canaan, a ser- 
vant of servants shall be he unto his brethren." Infidels cavil 
at this curse, because it falls on the descendants of the offen- 
der, Ham, the son of Noah. It may be replied, that the curse 
fell upon the offender in his own proper person. The vices 
of the Canaanites could not but be their plague, whatever 
had been the character of Ham, The wretched slavery of that 
people was not inflicted in consequence of their father's 
crime, but their slavery was foretold as a punishment on 
their ancestor. Had he been a good and righteous man, he 
might have been spared the foresight of so much misery. 



200 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

Genesis, xxii. 2. " Take now thy son, thine only son," &c. 
God had no design to accept such a sacrifice, nothing more 
•was intended than to make trial of the faith of the patriarch, 
and furnish a noble example of obedience to succeeding gene- 
rations. But, if Isaac had been slain, would any injustice 
have been done? Not surely to Isaac, -whose life was for- 
feited by sin, like that of all other men, and might be taken 
from him in this way as well as by disease. It would have 
been painful to his father to be the agent ; but the right of 
the Supreme Governor to prescribe any service to his sub- 
jects is indisputable, and in obeying Him they can do no 
wrong. 

Genesis, xii. 13. " Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister," &c. 
Abram, in this instance, evidently did wrong, but neither 
God nor his historian is responsible for the prevarication. It 
is merely recorded as a historical fact, without any approval 
or attempt at palliation. The same thing is true of the faults 
and sins which are recorded of Moses, David, Jonah, Elijah, 
Peter, &c. The registering of these things is proof of the 
stern fidelity of the sacred writers. 

Genesis, xxxvi. 2-3, as compared with chap. xxvi. 34. In 
the East difi'erent names were often applied to one person. 
Esau had three wives, and each of them is spoken of under 
two names, making six names for them all. 

Genesis, xlvi. 8-27. For the genealogical list of Jacob's 
family, here given, as consistent with itself, and reconcilable 
with Stephen's statement in Acts, vii. 14, see a subsequent 
chapter. 

Exodus, iv. 21. " I will harden Pharaoh's heart." Pro- 
perly, I will permit Pharaoh's heart to be hardened. God 
did not actually interfere to strengthen and confirm the ob< 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 201 

stinacy of Pharaoh, but, moved by that obstinacy, He with- 
drew from him, gradually, all the restraints of His grace ; 
and, as these restraints were removed, the heart of the king 
was more and more hardened. 

.Exodus, vii. 11. " Then Pliaraoh also called tlie wise men 
and the sorcerers," &c. It is not true, as has been alleged, 
that the magicians performed miracles as well as Moses. In 
every instance in which they attempted to compete with him, 
they fell infinitely below him, and at last gave up the attempt, 
confessing that " the finger of God^' was with him. 

Exodus, xi. 2. *' SpeaJc noio in the ears of the people, and 
let every man borrow of his neighhour," (&c. There is no evi- 
dence that the Israelites designed to deceive the Egyptians ; 
everything in the narrative goes to show that the people ex- 
pected to return, and were perfectly honest in thus dealing 
with their neighbors. The word borrowed is rendered ask in 
Psalms, ii. 8. 

Exodus, xx, 5. *' Visiting the iniquities of the fainers upon 
the children," &c. Apart from the teaching of the Bible, it 
is a fact which observation attests, that, in diseased constitu- 
tions, dishonored names, and broken fortunes, the physical 
consequences of the sins of parents are entailed upon their 
posterity. 

Exodus, xxv. 8. ''Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may 
dwell among them." 

Acts, vii. 48. " The Most High dwelletJi not in temples made 
tcith hands." The former text describes the majesty of God, 
the latter his grace. The one is his absolute dwelling, "light 
inaccessible, and full of glory :" the other is his special and 
gracious presence : " wheresoever two or three are met toge- 
ther in my name, there am I in the midst.'' 



202 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

Nltmbers, xxii. 22. ^'And God's anger loas kindled because 
he icent." It is true that God told Balaam to go, (v. 20,) but 
as he was first positively forbidden to go, and, instead of obey- 
ing, yielded to temptation, (v. 17,) and persuaded Balak's 
messenger to remain all night, (v. 19), and thus sinned, God 
gave him up to his own wicked heart, and that his punish, 
ment might bo wrought upon him, said, in answer to his 
solicitations, go. 

Numbers, xxv. 9. "And tJiose that died in the plague were 
tioenty and four thousand." Paul, in 1 Cor. x. 8, speaks of 
twenty-three thousand ; but he refers only to those who " fell 
in one day,'' while the text includes all that died on that occa- 
sion, even those who were destroyed by the judges. 

DEUTER0N03ir, X. 6. " There'' (at Mosera) ''Aaron died, 
and there he loas buried." It is said, in Numbers, that Aaron 
died at Mount Hor. Mosera was the name of the district in 
which Ilor is situated. Besides, the word tJiere [scliam] may 
be here used to designate the time of Aaron's death, and be 
translated tlien, or at that time, as it is in several other pas- 
sages. 

Deuteroxomy, xxxiv. ''Death of 3Ioses." There is reason 
to believe that this passage originally formed an introduction 
to the book of Joshua, and became separated from it by the 
division of the books into chapters and verses, or at some 
earlier period. 

JosnuA, X. 13. "And the sun stood still, and the moon 
stayed, until the 2)eople had avenged themselves upon their ene- 
mies." The miracle here recorded, was known to those of 
old who had no means of access to the divine writings. We 
find the event mythologically related, and there is not one sys- 
tem of belief, of which astronomical observations have formed 
a part, in which this " long day" has not been noticed. 

In the original, the phrase, " Sun, stand thou still," is, 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 203 

" Sun, he thou dumb {witliliold thy influence) while over 
Gibeon, and thou, Moon, over the valley of Ajalon." There 
are two reasons why Joshua called upon the " Sun" to stand 
still, instead of giving the scientific command according to 
our ideas, — ''■Earth, stand thou still.'' 1. The command was 
not addressed to the sun only, but to the sun and moon jointly. 
"Sun, stand thou still,'' or "withhold thine influence," would 
have the effect of restraining the operation both of earth and 
moon, and keeping them in their relative position. 2. The 
command, as given, would be more intelligible to those to 
whom the words were addressed. As the Amorites were 
pre-eminently adorers of the heavenly bodies, it would tend 
to show them how great was the power of the true God against 
those very beings whom they worshipped, if Joshua uttered 
his command as he did, to the objects of their idolatry. So, 
likewise, the suspension of a general planetary law would 
plainly affect the moon as v^-ell as the sun, and thus would it 
appear, as though Joshua had been well acquainted with this 
fact. 

The phrase, " Sun, stand thou still," does not necessarily 
mean that its influence was suddenly withdrawn. All we are 
told is, that the sun " hasted not to go down for a whole day." 
The sun slackened its apparent motion, or we may say the 
earth slackened, at the Divine command, its actual motion, 
and thus, though there would be an apparent cessation of the 
motion of the sun, it would be but gradually stayed, and 
stayed only for such a period, as in the exercise of His wis- 
dom, God thought fit to permit. But we must observe that 
the term, " Be thou dumb," or " withhold thine influence," 
is one which is peculiarly applicable. It is a form of expres- 
sion to be found, not only in the Hebrew language, but in 
other idioms ; and we have an instance of this in one of the 
most sublime poets, (Dante,) who, whether he copied from the 
divine writings, or whether it struck his own mind, speaks 
of the sun as being silent, when referring to those places 
where the light of the sun is not seen. If, then, we under- 



204 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

stand that the earth did stay its motion in obedience to the 
command, " Sun, stand thou still,'' or "withdraw thine influ- 
ence," that that motion was gradually slackened for the period 
during which the miracle lasted, and that then it continued 
at the rate at which it had gone on before, we shall see an 
easy mode of understanding how the miracle was performed, 
and we shall see the entire applicability, both spiritually and 
philosophically, of the words which were spoken. 

Judges, xi. 30, 31. JepMliali^ s vow. Infidels have made this 
narrative a ground of railing against the Bible, and Scripture 
expositors have been greatly embarrassed with it. Some of 
the latter, maintain that the fair victim of what they regard 
as a rash vow, was actually put to death ; other.s contend that 
she was only devoted to a life of pious celibacy. Both parties, 
however, have shown that there is here no room for infidel 
scofi's, since, if such an execution was perpetrated, it was done 
in flagrant violation of the divine precepts, (Lev. xviii. 21 ; 
ch. XX. 2-5 ; Deut. xii. 29, 30, 31,) and only proved that this 
Judge of Israel was extremely ignorant of the Mosaic law, 
and if he only devoted her to the service of the tabernacle, he 
still displayed a want of knowledge of the Levitical code, in 
supposing that he " could not go back" from his vow, there 
being an express provision that such vows might be com- 
muted. (Lev. xxvii. 1-8.) 

That there was no real sacrifice in the case, the following 
considerations have been adduced to show. How such a sacri- 
fice could be lawful, cannot be discerned, as the high-priest 
himself could not offer what he pleased for sacrifice, if it were 
not of that kind which God had appointed. If Jephthah was 
stained with the blood of his only child, it is not conceivable 
that his name would have been enrolled in the New Testa- 
ment, among the illustrious examples of faith and piety. 
Jephthah in his negotiations with the king of the Ammonites 
showed himself a man of justice and humanity, soundness of 
mind, strength of understanding and of argumentation, and 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 205 

accurate acquaintance with the laws and records of his na- 
tion. The last words of his vow in the Hebrew, will fairly 
admit of this rendering — " Shall surely be consecrated to the 
Lord, or I will offer it a burnt-oifering.'^ In making his vow, 
may he not be supposed to have imagined that, on his return, 
he might meet his flock of sheep or herd of goats, and that in 
this case his purpose was to offer a hecatomb of these ani- 
mals as a grateful oblation to God ; but that meeting his own 
daughter, and instantly remembering that the performance 
of his vow in causing her to spend her days in God's service, 
and exempt from the duties of a wife and mother, would dash 
his hope of posterity, this thought occasioned the mental dis- 
turbance expressed by rending his clothes. Can it be im- 
agined that the daughter, if she knew she was to be laid upon 
a flam.ing altar, would have coolly asked for two months, 
merely to bewail her virginity ? If Jephthah could allow her 
two months, why not twenty years ? If, when she returned 
to her father at the set time, and he sacrificed her, would the 
historian have gravely added, "And she knew no man V 
Does not this clause show that the vow had its fulfilment in 
her continuing to the end of her days in celibacy? Would 
the virgins of Israel have gone to Jephthah's daughter to 
*' comfort her four days in a year," if she had been numbered 
with the dead? 

1 Samuel, xxviii. 7-25. Saul and the witcli of Endor. 
Henry thinks that the fallen angels might attend upon the 
call of a sorceress, and therefore takes it for granted, that an 
evil demon, raised by the arts of witchcraft, assumed the shape 
of Samuel ; and, personating the prophet, answered the in- 
quiries of Saul. The profound silence of Scripture with re- 
spect to the manner of operation in effecting this, should teach 
us "not to covet to know these depths of Satan, or the solu- 
tion of such mysteries of iniquity." Some commentators con- 
sider the apparition of Samuel to Saul as a real miracle, pro- 
duced, not by the arts of sorcery, but by the finger of God. 
18 



206 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

Modern expositors have supposed, that as God overruled 
Balaam when seeking for enchantments, and compelled him 
to utter a true prophecy, — and as he sent a messenger of death 
to Ahaziah at the time when that prince was sending to in- 
quire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, so at the instant when 
Saul was appealing to a witch, the true Samuel was made to 
appear for his greater terror and punishment, by confirming 
the immediate execution of the sentence before passed upon 
him. 

2 KixGS, XX. 11. The sun-dial of Aliaz. This miracle 
appears, at least in one point, to be even greater than that 
of Joshua, for whereas Joshua only commanded the sun to 
stand still, while the armies of the Lord fought against their 
adversaries, it would seem in this case as though the work of 
creation had been, so to speak, undone, — as though the earth 
ha.d been turned back upon her axis, in order to testify the 
Lord's favor towards one of his servants, so that the miracle 
appears to be greater in itself, and more wonderful in propor- 
tion to the less amount of cause for its exhibition. "As the 
miracle,^' says one, " specifies a particular sun-dial, and claims 
no other object than the satisfaction of Hezekiah's mind by 
giving him " a sign," it may be held more in accordance with 
the importance of the case, that the miracle should have been 
wrought upon the sun-dial, and not upon the sun." Be this 
as it may, (though we do not admit the view), "it is not 
necessary for the understanding of the text, to suppose that 
either the sun or the earth changed its course ten degrees, or 
even one degree. The intervention of a light mass of vapor 
between the dial and the sun, would have refracted his beams 
sufficiently to bring back the shadow of the style ten degrees, 
measuring perhaps ten minutes, or even less. 

Psalms cxl. 10; cxxix. 6; cxliii. 12; Iviii. ; lix. Instances 
of icliat are called imprecations in Scripture. Some of these 
expressions might be rendered, with equal correctness, predic- 



SCRIPTURE DimCULTIES. 20T 

tions of what shall be. If we take the severest sense, wc must 
remember that David wrote them, not as a private man vent- 
ing his personal feelings, but as a jndge pronouncing what 
God had authorized. Their crimes justly deserved these 
penalties, and the Psalmist, as the mouthpiece of God, faith- 
fully pronounced them. 

Psalm ex. 3. " From the womb of the morning tliou liast 
the dew of thy youth." Thy progeny shall be numerous, and 
beautiful as the dew-drops of the morning. 

Psalm cxliv. 8. "J. right hand of falsehood" The right 
hand was held up when taking an oath ; this means they were 
given to false swearing. 

Proverbs xxvi. 4, 5. ^^ Answer not a fool Answer a 

fool.^' Contend with a fool, yet reprove a fool. 

EccLESiASTES, 1, 9. ''There is no new thing under the sun" 
No new expedient found to make men happy. 

EccLESiASTES, vii. 16. ''Be not righteous overmuch" Un- 
derstood, satirically, to mean, if you would pass current 
■with the world, a little religion will go a great way, and 
please them better than much. 

ECCLESIASTES, vii. 17. "Be not overmuch wicJced." Satiri- 
cally, because you will not be tolerated in society if you ex- 
ceed certain excesses. 

Isaiah, xxii. 22. Iioill lay upon his shoulder the key of the 
house of David " A large key, carried on the shoulder, was 
an ensign of authority. 

Isaiah, xliv. 20. " Is there not a lie in my right hand?" 
Have I not an idol [a lie) near me at all times ? 



208 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

Isaiah, x\v. 7. " I form the light, and create darhiess, I 
make peace, and create evil : I the Lord do all these things." 
The Lord sends wars, pestilence, calamities, and other evils, 
as punishments for national sins ; it is in this, and not the 
sense of an originator of evil, that he is said to create evil. 

Isaiah, Ixiii. 17. " Lord, luhy hast thou made us to err 
from thy ways, and hardened our hearts from thy fear ?" 
" Why dost thou suffer us to err from thy ways to harden our 
hearts from fear of thee V 

Jeremiah, xx. 7. " Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was 
deceived." The passage alludes to the encouragement God 
gave the prophet to take office, and critics have rendered it, 
*' Thou didst persuade me, and I was persuaded." 

EzEKiEL, xiv. 9. "J, the Lord, have deceived that prophet." 
I, Jehovah, have permitted that prophet to be deceived. 

Hose A, i. 2." Take unto thee a wife of whoredoms." Emi- 
nent critics consider this as spoken in parabolic terms, to 
show the Jews the abomination of their idolatries. 

Matthew, iii. 4. '■^Locusts and loild honey." A species 
of the grasshopper or locust, very common in the East, is 
still used there as an article of food, being dried, ground, and 
made up into bread. 

Matthew, iv. 8. ^^All the kingdoms of the ivorld." All 
the surrounding kingdoms, many of which could be seen from 
certain elevated spots in and about Judea. 

Matthew, x. 34. " Think not that I am come to send peace 
on earth : I came not to send peace but a sword." This is not 
a contradiction of those passages that announce the Saviour 
as the Prince of Peace. The gospel may be the occasion of 
war, but in itself it is the cause of peace. Its holiness coming 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 209 

into collision with men's sins — its denunciations of iniquity 
falling on those that love it — its rebuke of the most plausible 
hypocrisy, and its recognition of the least heart-felt desire " to 
do justly and love mercy" — its enshrining the least seed of 
truth, and its indifference to the lavp^pst husk of ceremony, 
are calculated as soon as introduced into a fallen world, to 
rouse the resistance of wicked men. But such resistance is 
not the fruit of Christianity, but of corrupt human nature 
hating, and seeking to repel the approach of truth. 

Matthew, xii. 31. " The hlaspliemy against tlie Holy GJwst 
shall not be forgiven unto men.'' From the connection, it is 
generally inferred that the sin against the Holy Ghost was 
the ascribing the miracles of Christ to Satanic agency, which 
could only have been occasioned by a wilful and malignant 
opposition to Christ. When the same is manifested in oppo- 
sing the revelation of the Holy Spirit against the clearest and 
strongest convictions of conscience, the result is the same. 
But as unpardonable sin hardens the heart, where there is 
a spirit of deep contrition for sin against God, this sin cannot 
have been committed, though there may have been near ap- 
proaches to it. " It shall not be forgiven him, neither in this 
world nor that which is to come," is not to be understood of sin 
ever being forgiven in the next world, but is a strong expres- 
sion for, it shall never be forgiven. There has been a greater 
variety of opinions in regard to the sin against the Holy 
Ghost, than any other question within the range of theological 
discussion. Epiphanius believed it to be, " villifying the 
Holy Ghost;" Hillary, "the denial of God in Christ;" Cyril, 
" an unmeet expression of the Spirit ;" Augustin, " final im- 
penitence ;" Ambrose, "the blasphemy of infidelity;" Lyra, 
sinning maliciously against the truth ;" Beza, " universal 
apostasy from God, by which the majesty of God is maliciously 
opposed;" Musculus, Bucer, Calvin, Piscator, "opposition to 
the Word of God, while convinced of its Divine authority ;" 
Chrysostom, " blasphemy in the face of miracles." 
18* 



210 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

Matthew, xvi. 18. ''Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I 
will build my cliurcliJ' Certainly not upon the feeble Peter 
who denied his Master: Peter's name signified rock, and the 
words seem to mean, Thy name is rock, but upon another rock, 
upon myself, the sure foundation-stone, I will build my 
church. 

Matthew, xvi. 19. ^^And I loill give unto tliee the keys of 
the kingdom of heaven: and lohatsoever thou shalt hind on earth 
shall he hound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on 
earth shall he loosed in heaven." Keys signify authority, Isa. 
ix. 5 ; xxii. 22 ; Rev. iii. 7. The binding and loosing, as 
Lightfoot proves from Jewish writings, refers to instructions, 
doctrines, and not to persons, and the passage signifies the 
inspiration of the Apostles to confirm or reject doctrines and 
customs as the Spirit should teach them. 

Matthew, xiii. 12. " Whosoever liath, to him shall he given, 
and he shall have more ahundance: hut whosoever liath not, 
from him shall he taken away even that he hath." One special 
gift of God to his people is an earnest of others ; so that he who 
has faith and grace, shall receive further communications of 
knowledge, wisdom, holiness, and every blessing of salvatioD, 
till he has a great abundance, whereas he, who has not faith 
and. grace, shall at last be deprived of all his other attainments 
and advantages, in which he trusted and gloried. 

He who hath considerable religious knowledge, and takes 
that care to improve it which men are observed to do with 
their wealth, will find it increase : while those who have but 
little, and manage it as the poor are often observed to do, will 
find it come to nothing. The little he had learned will slip 
out of his memory, he will be deprived of it, and in that 
sense it will be taken from him. God never intended that 
men should attain heavenly knowledge any more than earthly, 
without labor, pains, and attention. 



SCRIPTURE Diri'ICULTIES. 211 

Mark, vi. 5. " He could tliere do no miglity ivork." Not 
that he had not power, for he did cure a few sick ; but the 
unbelief of the people prevented them from applying to him. 
See Matt. xiii. 58. 

Luke, xiv. 26. '^ If any man come to me, and Jiate not Ms 
father and mother,^' &c. The word " hate^^ is used in Scrip- 
ture comparatively with love. Thus, it is stated, in Gen. 
xxix. 31, " When the Lord saw that Leah was hated ;" but 
this is explained in the preceding verse (v. 30), "he loved 
llachel more than Leah ;" " hated, ^' in verse 31, is the "less? 
loved" in verse 30, So, " if any man hate not his father,'^ &c., 
must mean, "If any man love his father above me, serve, or 
sacrifice, or suffer for an earthly relationship more than for 
me." 

Luke, xvi. 9. ^^ Make to yourselves friends of the mammon 
of unrighteousness.^' &c. Mammon was the heathen god of 
plenty. Mammon here means inoney : make friendship by a 
benevolent use of this,- especially among the household of 
faith. 

Luke, xviii. 25. ^^ For it is easier for a camel io go through 
a needle's eye,'' &c. This proverbial expression will appear 
less strange, if we consider that doors in the East, at least 
•those of the inclosures about their houses, were very low, 
so made as some defence against the sudden incursions of the 
mounted Arabs of the desert. Through these their camels 
were made to enter, kneeling, with considerable difficulty. 
So that, to force a camel through a doorway as small as the 
eye of a needle, came to be thought of. 

John", i. 21. "Art thou JEliasf Afid he saiih, I am not. 
Art thou that yrophet? And he ansivered, No." John the 
Baptist was not literally the person of Elias, and it was pro- 
per for him to say he was not, in order to correct the gross 
notions of the Jews on that subject. Had he answered in 



212 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

the affirmative, he would have confirmed them in a gross 
falsehood. Yet John the Baptist was that Elias of whom the 
prophet Malachi spoke (chap. iv. 5) ; that is, as Luke ex- 
presses it, "he came in the spirit and power of Elias'^ (chap. 
i. 17) ; and so was, as it were, another Elias. 

John-, v. 40. "Ye loill not come to me that ye may liate life :'' 
also, Ezek. xviii. 31, "Why will we ye die?'^ If it be asked, 
why does not the Almighty do what he thus seems so much 
to desire? the answer is, God will not treat men as dead ma* 
chines, or as irrational and irresponsible creatures. He will 
not drive men to heaven by force. He draws with cords of 
love, and with hands of a man. He stands at the door of the 
human heart and knocks for admission. He will conciliate 
where he might coerce and command. 

JoHX, xix. 14. "And it ivas the preparation oftliepassover, 
and about the sixth hour: and he saith tinto the Jeivs, Behold your 
kingV Mark says, Christ was crucified about the third 
hour. The word sixth, in the text, is thought by many emi- 
nent critics to be a mistake of some copyist, as a few old 
MSS. read third instead. Calvin, Grotius, and some others, 
think the two Evangelists adopted difi'erent modes of reckon- 
ing time, in one of which the day was divided into twelve 
hours, beginning at sunrise, and in the other of which it was 
divided into four parts, of three hours each, which would 
make the sixth and third coincide. Some think John fol- 
lowed a Romish custom of reckoning the hours from mid- 
night. 

Jonx, xix. 34. "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced 
his side, and forthwith came there oid hlood and water.'' It 
appears that the spear went through the pericardium and 
pierced the heart, and that the water proceeded from the for- 
mer, and the Uood from the latter. 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 213 

John, xx. 29. '■^Blessed are iJiey that have not seen, and 
yet have believed:" also, Luke, x. 23, "Blessed are the eyes 
which see the things ivhich ye see" The former of these pas- 
sages pronounces a blessing upon those who saw the fulfil- 
ment of what others have believed ; the latter upon those 
who should believe the Gospel on the ground of their testi- 
mony, without having witnessed the facts with their own 
eyes. There is no contradiction in these blessings, for there 
is a wide difference between reqairing sight as the ground of 
faith, which Thomas did, and obtaining it as a completion of 
faith, which those who saw the coming and kingdom of the 
Messiah did. The one was a species of unbelief, the other 
was faith terminating in vision. 

Acts, vii. 14. " TJien sent Joseph and called his father Ja- 
cob to him, and all his kindred, iJireescore and ff teen soids." 
For explanation of this verse see subsequent chapter. 

Acts, xxii. 9. "And they that were with me saw indeed the 
light, and were afraid, but they heard not the voice of him that 
spake to me." Acts, ix. 7. "And the men which journeyed 
loith him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man" 
The statement in these two passages contains a variety, but 
no contrariety; the former observing that the men "heard a 
voice,'' the latter, that " they heard not the voice of him that 
spoke" to Saul. They heard a sound which terrified them, 
but did not understand the meaning, which Saul did. The 
one says that they " saw the light," the other that they " saw 
no man." In all this there is no inconsistency. 

Romans, V. 9. "Justified by Christ: v. 1. "Justified by 
faith." James, ii. 24. "By loorks a man is Justified." The 
contradiction here is only apparent, not real. We are justi- 
fied by Christ, meritoriously; by faith, instrumentally ; by 
works, declaratively. Christ's righteousness is the ground of 
our justification; faith is the medium or means by which 



214 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

that rigjliteousness becomes ours, and a holy life is the visi- 
ble evidence of our acceptance with God, and title to happi- 
ness. 

Romans, vi. 17. *' But God he tlianJced, ye were servants of 
sin." The original is often elliptical, and in such cases the 
deficiency should be supplied. " Though ye were the servants 
of sin/^ &c 

Romans, viii. 19. '^ For the earnest expectation of the crea- 
ture waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God:" gene- 
rally understood to mean that, the whole visible creation 
waits anxiously for the time when the sons of God shall be 
manifested, and the earth and its creatures be restored to the 
primitive state of their creation. 

Romans, ix. 3. ''For I could wish that myself were ac- 
cursed from Christ for my trethren, my kinsmen according to 
thefesh." It would be absurd to suppose that the Apostle 
wished himself eternally cursed ; but the language seems to 
intimate his willingness to die what was deemed an accursed 
death, such as Paul's Lord endured, so that he could 
be the means of saving his countrymen. Compare Gal., 
iii. 13. 

Romans, ix. 18. " Whom he will he hardeneth." He suf- 
lereth to be hardened. 

Romans, ix. 22. "Wliat if God, willing to show his wrath,'' 
dx. lie may show bis wrath in punishing the guilty without 
any impeachment of his justice. " Vessels of wrath fitted for 
destruction." Not fitted by God, but by themselves, by their 
own sins. "Vessels of mercy." made meet for heaven by 
Divine grace. 

1 Corinthians, x. 33. " I please all men in all things." 
Galatians, i. 10. '' If I yet please men, I should not be ilie 



I 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 215 

servant of Christ." The former is that sweet inoffensiveness 
of spirit which teaches us to lay aside all self-vs'ill and self- 
importance ; that charity which " seeketh not her own," and 
"is not easily provoked." The latter spirit referred to, is 
that sordid compliance with the corruptions of human nature, 
of which flatterers and deceivers have always availed them- 
selves, not for the glory of God or the good of men, but for 
the promotion of their own selfish designs. 

1 Corinthians, xi. 27. ** Guilty of the tody and blood of 
the Lord." Liable to the punishment due to those who " dis- 
honor the symbols of the Lord's body and blood." 

1 Corinthians, xv. 29. '^ Baptized for the dead" means 
here, in the room of, filling up the places of the dead who 
have fallen by martyrdom, or otherwise died in the faith of 
the same Lord. 

2 Corinthians, xii. 16. " Nevertheless, being crafty, I 
caught you with guile." The Apostle clearly uses the lan- 
guage or charge of an accuser. He does not confess the 
truth of the charge of craftiness, but concedes it so far only 
as to turn the point against his accuser. 

Hebrews, vi. 46. '^ For it is impossible for those who were 
once enlightened," &c. Nothing is impossible with God ; but 
God works by means, and the persons here alluded to are 
confirmed apostates, who, having abandoned forever all the 
means of grace, have cut themselves off from all the hopes of 
glory. 

Hebrews, vii. 3. '■'Without father, without mother, without 
descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life." 
Melchisedec is here taken as a type of Christ, from certain 
peculiarities respecting him. He was " without recorc^etZ fa- 
ther, without recorded mother, without priestly pedigree," 
either by father or mother's side ; nor have we any account 



216 SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 

of the beginning of his days, or of the end of his life and 
ministry. 

IIebre^fs, xi. 33 ; xi. 39. " Who, through faith, obtained 
promises." '' And these all received not ihe promise." The 
" promises" referred to, are those which were fulfilled during 
the Old Testament Dispensation. The "promise" mentioned , 
was that of the coming of the Messiah, in the faith of which 
the fathers lived and died, but saw not its accomplishment. 

Hebrews, xii. 17. ^^ For he found no place of repentance, 
though he sought it carefidly loith tears" No place for repent- 
ance in his father's mind. Such as wilfully renounce Chris- 
tianity will find no place for repentance in God, who has 
connected apostasy with ruin, though no true penitent ever 
sought mercy in vain. 

James, ii. 10. ^^ He that offendeth in one point is guilty of 
all." The divine law tolerates sin in no respect, and in no 
instance. The man who violates it in one particular, shows 
that there is in him the spirit of disobedience. The angels 
only sinned once. It was by one offence that Adam incurred 
the penalty of death. 

1 Peter, iii. 19, 20. ^^Re went and preached unto the spirits 
in prison." Not in prison in Noah's days, but shut up for 
their unbelief in the prison of darkness, when the Apostle 
wrote about them. 

1 John, v. 16. " The^^e is a sin unto death, I do not say 
that he shall pray for it." The sin of malicious unbelief, 
showing itself by speaking evil of the miraculous works of 
the Spirit, as the Jews did, apostatizing from the truth, and 
final impenitence. 

JuDE, 9. " Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with 
the devil he disputed about the body of Moses." There are 



SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. 217 

several conjectures respecting this passage, but that which 
seems most likely, is that Satan would fain have prevented 
the interment of the body of Moses, that its exposure might 
lead the Israelites to pay divine honors to it, from their 
strong propensity to idolatry, 

Kevelations, ii. 17. " To him tJiat overcometJi, luill I 
give a wJiite stone,'' &c. It vras a custom among the an- 
cients to give their votes by white or black stones: with these 
they condemned the guilty, with those they acquitted the in- 
nocent. In allusion to this ancient custom, our Lord promi- 
ses to give the spiritual conqueror the white stone of absolu- 
tion or approbation ; and inseparably connected with it a 
new name of dignity and honor, even that of a child of God, 
and heir of glory, which is known only to himself, or the 
inhabitants of that world to which he shall be admitted, and 
who have already received it. 



19 



Gen. VIII.— a. m. 1C56. b. c. 2293. 



" And now, the thickening sky, 
Like a dark ceiling stood, down rushed the rain 
Impetuous, and continued till the earth 
No more was seen. The floating vessel swam 
Uplifted, and secure, with beaked prow, 
Rode tilting o'er the waves: all dwellings else 
Flood-overwhelmed, and them, with all their pomp, 
Deep under water rolled ; sea covered sea. 
Sea without shore : and in their palaces, 
Where luxury late reigned, sea monsters whelped 
And stahled. Of mankind, so numerous late. 
All left in one small bottom swam imbarked." 

" In all pursuits,^' says an amiable philosopher, "I think it 
is better to be wholly ignorant and unskilled, than half-learn- 
ed and half-expert. Philosophy, too, they say, it is better 
never to have touched, than to have but partially tasted, inas- 
much as those become most malicious, vrho, pausing in the 
porch of science, turn away without proceeding further." 
Nothing has proved the accuracy of these observations so well 
as the connexion between the natural sciences and revealed 
religion. It has been the malice of superficial men, who had 
not patience or courage to penetrate into the sanctuary of na- 
ture, that has suggested objections from her laws, against 

( 218 ) 



THE FLOOD. 219 

truths revealed. Had they "boldly advanced, they would have 
discovered, as in the cavern-temples of India and Idumea, 
that the depths which serve to conceal her darkest mysteries, 
may the soonest be changed into the fittest places for profound 
adoration." 

In reference to the Scripture history of the deluge, in par- 
ticular, men have been led to cherish incredulity by being in 
that middle state between ignorance and knowledge, which, 
aside from a natural distaste for its truths, is the most dang- 
erous enemy of religion. They have thus exemplified the 
poet's sentiments : 

"A little learning is a dangerous thing, 
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring :— 
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, 
And drinking largely sobers us again." 

To express the same general sentiment in the words of in- 
spiration itself ; professing themselves wise, they become fools, 
and change the truth of God into a lie. 

To all the arguments urged aginsfc an universal deluge, it 
is sufficient, on the principle, " Let God be true, and every 
man a liar," to oppose the plain declarations of Scripture. 
Other proofs, however, lying within our reach, may properly 
be referred to, and out of the great abundance which exists, 
we must, from due regard to our limits, necessarily confine 
ourselves to a very succinct statement of only a few. 

"We are acquainted,^^ says a forcible writer, "with no an- 
cient people who were without traditions of this great event. 
From Josephus we learn that Berosus, a Chaldean historian, 
whose works are now lost, related the same things as Moses 
of the deluge, and the preservation of Noah in an ark. Eu- 
sebius informs us that the history of the flood was contained 
in the works of Abydenus, an Assyrian writer. Lucian, the 
Greek writer, says that the present is not the original race of 
men, but is descended from Deucalion, who was preserved in 



220 THE FLOOD. 

an ark from the universal deluge which destroyed men for 
their wickedness. Yarro, the Roman writer, divided time 
into three periods, the first from the origin of men to the 
deluge. The Hindoo purannas contain the history of the 
deluge, and of Noah under the name of Satyavrata. They 
relate that Satyavrata was miraculously preserved in an ark 
from a deluge which destroyed all mankind." The writer 
first quoted, adds, " that the whole of our glohe has been sub- 
merged by the ocean is proved, not by tradition only, but by 
its mineralogical and fossil history. On the summits of high 
mountains, and in the centres of continents, vast beds of 
shells and other marine productions are to be found. Petri- 
fied fishes and sea-weed esist in the heart of quarries. The 
vegetable an J animal productions of the torrid zone have 
been dug up in tlie coldest regions, as Siberia, and, vice versa, 
the productions of the polar regions have been found in 
warm climates. These facts are unanswerable proofs of a 
deluge."" 

The length of the ark was " three hundred cubits." Some 
doubt has existed as to the kind of cubit here alluded to, 
whether it were the common cubit of eighteen inches, or the 
cubit of about three inches longer. But taking, says Eush, 
the shortest of the two, it is capable of demonstration, that it 
must have been of the burden of 43,413 tons. Now, a first- 
rate man-of-war is between 2200 and 2300 tons ; the ark con- 
sequently possessed a capacity of storage equal to that of 
eighteen ships of the line of the largest class, which, upon a 
very moderate computation, are capable of carrying 20,000 
men, with stores and provisions for six months* consumption, 
besides 1800 pieces of cannon. As all the various distinct 
species of four-footed animals may be reduced, according to 
Buffon, to two hundred or two hundred and fifty, it cannot 

-•• The reader wishing to pursue this subject further, will be greatly- 
aided by reference to the sixth of Dr. Wiseman's " Twelve Lectures on 
the connection between Science and Revealed Religion." — Gould and 
Newman. 



THE FLOOD. 221 

for a moment be doubted, that the ark would contain the spe- 
cified proportion of these, of birds, insects, and eight human 
beings, with the requisite supplies of food for a year. " Indeed, 
the truth is,^' observes Bishop Wilkins, "that of the two, it is 
much more difiicult to assign a number and bulk of creatures 
necessary to answer the capacity of the ark, than to find suf- 
ficient room for the several species of animals already knov.'n 
to have been there. The objection, therefore, sometimes 
urged, that the ark was incapable of affording accommodation 
to its alleged inmates, falls to the ground.'^ 

As to the universality of the deluge, there is no room for 
doubt. Everything goes to prove, that, as Moses tells us, the 
waters covered the whole earth. If the waters had only over- 
flowed the neighborhood of the Euphrates and the Tigris, 
they could not be fifteen cubits above the highest mountains, 
there was no rising to that height without spreading them- 
selves, by the laws of gravity, over the rest of the earth, unless, 
perhaps, they had been retained there by a miracle, in which 
case, no doubt, Moses would have related the miracle, as he 
did that of the waters of the Red Sea, &c. It may also be 
observed, that in the regions far remote from the Euphrates and 
Tigris, viz. ; Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, England, 
the United States, &c., there are frequently found, in places 
many scores of miles from the sea, and even on the tops of 
high mountains, whole trees sunk deep under ground, also 
teeth and bones of animals, fishes entire, sea-shells, ears of 
corn, &G., petrified, which the best naturalists are agreed 
could never have come there but by the deluge. The icy 
masses of the polar regions, the river-banks, and the plains of 
Siberia, the loftiest mountains of the globe, the Andes of 
America, the Himalayas of Asia, all contain their relics. Hum- 
boldt found an enormous quantity of marine substances on 
the Andes, at the height of more than fourteen thousand feet 
above the level of the ocean. Beds of shells were found at 
Touraiue, in France, twenty-seven miles in length and eigh- 
teen feet in depth, and others between South Carolina and 
19* 



222 THE FLOOD. 

Mississippi, stretching along an extent of six hundred miles. 
The skeleton of a •\\'hale was discovered on Mount Sandhorn, 
in Norway, at the elevation of more than three thousand feet, 
and a portion of another in Stappen, in Finmark, about eiglit 
hundred feet above high-water mark. The bones of elephants 
were found by Humboldt near Bogota, in South America, 
about seven thousand eight hundred feet above the level of 
the sea ; and others were obtained by him from a place on 
the Andes, about two degrees of latitude from Quito and 
Chili. In the Royal College of Surgeons, London, are de- 
posited the bones of deer and horses, found in masses, which 
descended with the avalanches from an elevation on the Hima- 
laya mountains, computed at sixteen thousand feet above the 
ocean, to which, of course, with its rugged way, and region 
of eternal snow, these animals could never have ascended. 
So, too, the remains of the elephantine race have been dis- 
covered in great numbers in England, Italy, and Germany, 
and in the United StatCw^!. They have been found in the State 
of New York, on the banks of the Ohio river, and in various 
points of the valley of the Mississippi. 

Not to prolong this detail, I call attention to the vast deserts 
of the earth, those oceans of sands in Africa, in Persia, in 
Arabia, in America, — hundreds, and some of them thousands 
of miles in extent. The desert of Sahara, says Fairholme, is 
between two thousand and three thousand miles long, and 
seven hundred miles broad. The great salt desert of Persia 
is seven hundred miles broad. The plains of South America, 
and of Hungary, in Europe, are truly, vast in their dimen- 
sions. In the extensive low plains of Carolina, marks of the 
former occupation of the sea are everywhere displayed. Ex- 
tensive beds of oyster-shells are found at considerable depths, 
alternating with strata of blue clay. Pure sea sand is the 
prevailing soil of the deserts of Africa. The desert of Sahara 
contains wells of brackish waters. Bounded pebbles are found 
at their bottom. A traveller, M. Caillie, says of this desert, 
"the plains had the precise appearance of the ocean, perhaps, 



THE FLOOD. 223 

such as the bed of the sea would have if left dry by tha 
waters/^ The plain of the Crimea abounds in salt lakes and 
marshes. Petrifactions and marine remains are everywhere 
found in great abundance. 

The distinguished Cuvier, in his Avorks, remarks, " If there 
be anything demonstrated in geology, it is, that the surface 
of our globe has been the victim of a great and sudden revo- 
lution, of Vi'hich the date cannot go back much further than 
five or six thousand years ;" and this has been the opinion of 
many eminent scientific men. 

The deluge must, undoubtedly, be considered an altogether 
miraculous and supernatural event, sent as a punishment to 
men for the corruption then in the world ; but it is at the same 
time interesting to notice how infidelity has lost, and is losing 
the aid of philosophy in framing objections to it. Keill 
formerly computed that twenty-eight oceans would be neces- 
sary to overflow the highest mountains to the height given by 
Moses ; but we are now informed " that a further progress in 
mathematical and physical knowledge has shown the diflerent 
seas and oceans to contain, at least, forty-eight times more 
water than they were then supposed to do, and that the mere 
raising of the temperature of the whole body of the ocean to 
a degree no greater than marine animals live in, in the shal- 
low seas between the tropics, would so expand it as more than 
to produce the height above the mountains stated in the 
Mosaic account.^' 



Cninn nf 36ahL 

Gen. X. 10. 

This famous tower received its name from the fact that, 
Vi'hen it was building, God confounded the languages of 
those who were engaged in the undertaking, about a. m. 
1775, one hundred and twenty years after the deluge. It 
was designed by those who erected it, to serve as a national 
rallying-point, and thus to secure their union, and concentrate 
their feelings and interests, as well as to prevent their disper- 
sion. It is also more than probable that it was intended as a 
place of worship, but not of the true God. 

We find frequent allusions to this structure in ancient his- 
tory. Herodotus and Strabo, both assert that there was a 
tower built in Chaldea, called the Tower of Belus, and that 
there were walks upon it, along which two chariots could 
drive abreast. Abydenus, as quoted by Eusebius, thus 
writes : — " There are, who relate, that the first men, born of 
the earth, (giants,) when they grew proud of their strength 
and stature, supposing that they were more excellent than 
the gods, wickedly attempted to build a tower where Babylon 
now stands. But the work advancing towards heaven, was 
overthrown upon the builders by the gods, with the assistance 
of the winds, and the name Bahylon was imposed upon the 
ruins. Till that period men were of one language, but then 
the gods sent among them a diversity of tongues. And then 
commenced the war between Saturn and Titan.^' Eupolemus, 
as cited by Alexander Polyhister, affirms, " that the city of 
Babylon was built by giants who escaped from the flood, that 
these giants built the most famous tower in all history, and 

(224) 



TOWEE OF BABEL. 225 

that the tower was dashed to pieces by the almighty power 
of God, and the giants dispersed and scattered over the face 
of the whole earth. '^ Josephus quotes from one of the 
Sybilline oracles, the following words, " When all mankind 
spoke the same language, some of them elevated a tower im- 
mensely high, as if they would ascend up into heaven, but the 
gods sent a wind and overthrew the tower, and assigned to 
each a particular language, and hence the city of Babylon 
derived its name." 

It is the opinion of many that the tower described by Hero- 
dotus, as we have already seen, and which stood in the midst 
of Babylon, and was dedicated to the god Belus, was the 
Tower of Babel, re-edified from its ruins and freshly adorned 
by Nebuchadnezzar, the second founder of that far-famed city. 

"Whether any traces now remain of this prodigious struc- 
ture," says Professor Bush, " and if so, where they are to be 
sought for, is a question of somewhat difficult solution. 
Three distinct masses of ruin in the region of Babylon have 
been claimed by different writers as entitled to this distinc- 
tion, viz., NimrocTs Tower at Akkerkoof, the Miijelihee about 
950 yards east of the Euphi-ates, and five miles above the 
modern town of Hillah, and the Birs Nemroud to the ivest of 
that river, and about six miles to the south-east of Hillah. 
Niebuhr, Porter, and Rosenmiiller concur with the traditions 
of the country in fixing upon the latter as the probable site 
of this earliest great work of man." 



&Mlflgiriil libi cf Siirnli'0 /iiniilt[» 



Genesis, xlvi. 8, 21 



It has been often objected by infidels that the genealogical 
list of Jacob's family, as given in these verses, is inconsistent 
with itself and Stephen's statement, in Acts, vii. 14. Let us 
look at these supposed discrepancies and we shall see that 
they can all be reconciled : — 

1. In verse 27, the aggregate is stated at ''threescore and 
teiu" (70). 

2. In verse 26, '■'■ tlireescore and six,'' (66). 

3. In Acts, vii. 14, ''threescore and jifteen'' (75). 

In each of these cases the most precise phraseology is used 
to describe the persons intended to be included. 

1. Verse 8. " These are the names of the children of Is- 
rael which came into Egypt, Jacoh and his sons." Thus, 
Jacob himself is here included. 

f Jacob 1 

Reuben — Ilanoch, Pallu, Hezron, Carmi 5 

Simeon — Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, 

Shaul 7 

Levi — Gershon, Kohath, Merari 4 

Leah. ■{ Jiidah — Ez, Onan, Shelah, Pharez, Ziirah. 
(Sons of Pharez) Hezron, Hamul, Ez and 

Onan died in Canaan, not included 6 

Issachar — Tola, Puvah, Job, Shimron 5 

Zebulon — Sered, Elon, Jahleel 4 

Dinah — (Jacob's daughter, Gen. xxx. 21) ... . 1 

"33 
(226) 



JACOB'S FAMILY. 227 

Brought forward 33 

Verse 15. " These be the sons of Leah, which she bare 
unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah ; all 
the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and 
three, (33). 

Gad — Ziphion, Ilaggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Ezi, 

Arodi, Areli 8 

ZiLPAH. \ Aslier — Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, Serah 
(their sister), (sons of Beriah) Heber, Mal- 
chiel 8 

Verse 18. " These are the sons of Zilpah, and these 
bare unto Jacob, sixteen souls,^^ (l^)- 

{Joseph — Manasseh, Ephraim 3 

Rachel. \ Benjamin — Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naa- 

[ man, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, Ard. . . 11 

Verse 22. " These are the sons of Rachel, which were 
born unto Jacob. All the souls were fourteen,^^ (14). 

Bii FAH i "^"^^ — Hushim 2 

' 1 Naplitali — Jahleel, Guni, Jezer, Shillem 5 

Verse 25. " These are the sons of Bilkah, and she bare 

these unto Jacob ; all the souls were seven," (7). 

Total 70 

Mark the precision of the language used (verse 27) : " All 
the souls of the house (or family) of Jacob, wliich came into 
Egypt, were ilireescore and ien.^' 

But, in verse 26, "All the souls that came ivitli Jacob, 
which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all 
the souls were threescore and six." 

Now, observe, this last number includes only Jacob's 
lineal descendants, and of them, none but those "who came 
with him into Egypt." Therefore, Joseph and his two sons, 
who were already in Egypt, and Jacob himself (who did not 
"come out of his own loins,") must be deducted from the 
preceding total, and leaves precisely threescore and six. 



228 JACOB'S FAMILY. 

Again, Stephen says, in Acts, vii. 14, " Then sent Joseph 
and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, three- 
score andffteen soidsJ' 

This number evidently includes "Jacob's sons' -^ives,^^ for 
they were " of his kindred,'^ and were expressly sent for. 
G^n. xlv. 18, 19. How many of them were then living in 
Canaan we have no means of determining. Joseph's wife 
was already in Egypt; Judah's wife, we are informed, was 
dead (Gen. xxxviii. 12), and probably others. If, then, to 
the previous number of sixty-six we add nine, we have the 
exact number stated by Stephen — seventy-five {iJtreescore and 
ffteen). 



Joshua, x, 40 

On the rigorous treatment of the nations of Canaan to which 
infidels and Deists have taken so many exceptions, the follow- 
ing facts and arguments challenge consideration : — These na- 
tions were impious and profligate in a more than ordinary de- 
gree. We have proof of this in Leviticus, ch. xviii. 24th, 
and following verses. They polluted and stained the land 
with abominable crimes, and these crimes or detestable prac- 
tices were general among them. They were customs which 
were committed. They were also abominations done unto 
their gods. Now, it was for these odious and brutal vices 
which defiled the land, that the people were destroyed — 
" therefore, I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it." Nor did 
this visitation occur until those nations had time, and were 
urged to repent, and their wickedness had reached such a 
■height that it was no longer to be endured. This is plainly 
inferrible from Genesis, xv. where God tells Abraham, 
that his descendants of the fourth generation should return 
into that country, and not before, — and then adds, "for the 
iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full," — which more than 
seems to indicate that, as long as their crimes were confined 
within any bounds, they were permitted to remain in their 
country. 

If then the divine government is moral, and if vice ever 
deserves punishment, most justly was punishment inflicted 
on the Canaanites. And, hence it follows, that the destruc- 
tion of these nations immediately by God, is no more a proof 
20 ( 229 ) 



230 DESTRUCTION OE THE CANAANITES. 

that the Bible which records this event, is not the inspiration 
of God, than the destruction of nations by the sword of the 
conqueror, or by the breath of pestilence, is proof that there 
is no God in heaven, and that there is no moral government 
of the earth. This destruction, as an act of exemplary penal 
justice, was entirely consistent with the character of the 
Moral Governor of the Universe, and if God had effected ifc 
by an earthquake, burying the people under the ruins of their 
dwellings, no one would have thought that he dealt unjustly 
with them. Frequently do we see juries in our own country 
bringing in a verdict of guilty, the judge pronouncing sen- 
tence of death, and that sentence executed, and yet no one 
complains that there is anything wrong or unjust in the act. 
Not only, however, may this event be regarded as one of 
equity to the guilty, but also mercy to the innocent. If the 
contagion of vice is more deadly in its results than the con- 
tagion of disease, and if, to arrest the latter, it is a beneficent 
act to interdict all communication betAveen an infected city 
and the surrounding country, though the consequence may be 
the death of most of its inhabitants, then was it an act of 
goodness on the part of the Supreme Disposer, entirely to cut 
off a nation which set examples of the most flagitious crimi- 
nality to all around, and all whose posterity (surely we may 
allow Divine Omniscience to know this) woulionly have grown 
up to add inhabitants to the world of darkness. " I am fond,'^ 
says Bishop Watson, " of considering the goodness of God as 
the leading principle of his conduct towards mankind, of con- 
sidering his justice as subservient to his mercy. He pun- 
ishes individuals and nations with the rod of his wrath ; but I 
am persuaded that all his punishments originate in his abhor- 
rence of sin, are calculated to lessen its influence, and are 
proof of his goodness, inasmuch as it may not be possible for 
Omnipotence itself to communicate supreme happiness to the 
human race, whilst they continue servants of sin. The de- 
struction of the Canaanites exhibits to all nations, in all ages, 



DESTRUCTION OF THE CANAANITES. 231 

a signal proof of God's displeasure against sin ; it has been to 
others, and it is to ourselves, a benevolent warning." 

To the objection urged, that the destruction of the Canaan- 
ites confounded the innocent loith the guilty, a satisfactory reply 
nmy be given. It is to be recollected, that, if a man is immor- 
tal, the death of the body is by no means the greatest calamity 
which can befall him : it is even reasonable to believe, what 
the Scriptures intimate, that death is often a kind dispensa- 
tion ; that, among the wicked, they are sometimes removed 
" in whom there is found some good thing towards the Lord 
God of Israel, ^^ "^ and that " the righteous is taken away from 
the evil to come.'^f It were as reasonable then to blaspheme 
the Divine Power which suffered Herculaneuni to be over- 
flowed with burning lava, Lisbon to be swallowed up by an 
earthquake, and the Caribs, and other nations of the West 
Indies, to be exterminated by the Spaniards, and which per- 
mits thousands of persons to be annually destroyed in Bar- 
bary and Turkey by the plague, and a third part of the 
human race to perish in infancy, as to revile the Divine Word, 
in which is recorded the destruction of the Canaanites by the 
sword of the children of Israel. Surely, if we would deny 
the God of Scripture for sanctioning the extirpation of a most 
abandoned nation, we must deny the God of nature for per- 
mitting such multitudes, not only of the wicked, but of the 
good, to perish by war and murder, by shipwreck and famine, 
by the convulsions of nature and the visitations of disease. 

As to the mode of the punishment in question, it may be 
observed that there was a fitness in making the Israelites the 
instruments, because having witnessed the sufferings of the 
Canaanites, and knowing the cause of them, they Avould be 
more effectually restrained from imitating their abominable 
practices. Besides, as the people of those ages were affected 
by no proof of the power of the gods which they worshipped, 
so deeply, as by giving them victory in war; there was a pro- 
priety in ordering that the extermination of the Canaanites, 

* 1 Kings xiv. 13. f Isa. Ivii. 1. 



232 DESTRUCTION OF THE CANAANITES. 

which might have been accomplished by a pestilence, by fire, 
or by earthquakes, should be efifected by the Israelites, as 
mere instruments in the hands of a righteous Providence, in- 
asmuch as this vras the clearest and most intelligible method 
of displaying the power and righteousness of the God of 
Israel, his power over the pretended gods of other nations, 
and his righteous hatred of the crimes into which they had 
fallen. 



Matthew viii. 28, 34. 

This subject has given rise to much discussion. One class 
of writers have supposed that the possessions mentioned in 
the Gospels, were real operations of devils; others, that they 
were nothing more than natural causes and effects, and were 
such diseases as are incident to men, but only with different 
names. 

The cases in the New Testament, of which these different 
views have been taken, are as follows: — 

[ Matt. viii. 28, 34. 

1. That of the Gadarene demoniacs. < Mark, v. 1, 20. 

( Luke, viii. 26, 39. 

2. That in the synagogue at Caper- f Mark, i. 23, 26. 
naum. 1 Luke, iv. 33, 6. 

3. That of the woman with a spirit of infirmity. — Luke, 
xiii. 10, 17. 

4. That of the daughter of the Syro- f Matt. sv. 21, 28. 
Phoenician woman. I Mark, vii. 24, 30. 

f Matt. xvii. 14, 21. 

5. That of the lunatic child. ■{ Mark, ix. 14, 29. 

[Luke, ix. 37, 42. 

In support of the common, simple, and ancient interpreta- 
tion of these cases, notwithstanding all the difBculties which 
may seem to attach to it, viz : that the demoniacs mentioned 
were not merely madmen, but that their bodies were actually 
possessed, controlled, governed, and inhabited b}' wicked and 
impure spirits; the following arguments may be adduced : 

Even admitting that the word demons generally signifies, 
20 * ( 233 ) 



234 DEMONIACAL POSSESSION. 

in the classics, and occasionally in the Scriptures, the soul 
of a dead person, yet almost uniformly throughout the New 
Testament, the signification of the word is so clear, that there 
can be no doubt.it is rightly translated devils. Thus, the 
text, (James, ii. 19), " The demons believe and tremble,^' 
cannot with propriety be applied to any other beings, nor 
well admit of any other translation than, "the devils believe 
and tremble." Thus, too, in the Gospels, the same beings 
that are named demons, are named also spirits, and unelean 
spirits, and evil and wicked spirits. Matt. xii. 43, 45 ; x. 1 ; 
viii. 16 ; xvii. 18. Luke, xi. 24, 26 ; iv. 33, &c. ; ix. 1 ; iv. 
41 ; ix. 42. Mark, i. 23 ; iii. 11 ; ix. 25, 26. From these in- 
stances it is evident that demons and spirits, and foid and 
tniclean spirits, and evil and wick-ed spiiits are synonymous 
terms. It further appears that demons are beings of the 
same kind, of the same nature as Satan and Beelzebub, the 
prince or cliief of tlie demons. Thus, for example, Jesus rea- 
soned, when accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub, 
the prince or chief of the demons (Matt. xiii. 22, 32 ; Mark, iii. 
22, 30; Luke, xi. 14, 26) — showing that casting out demons 
by Beelzebnb is the same as casting out demons by Satan, 
and that Satan's casting out demons is casting out Mmself. 
When the seventy returned to our Saviour (Luke, x. 17, 18), 
" saying. Lord, even the demons are subject unto us, through 
Thy name," He considered the fall of demons as the fall of 
Satan: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." 
Peter also spoke of the demoniacs under the name and no- 
tion of '' oppressed with the devil," when he told Cornelius 
the centurion (Acts, x. 38), "how God anointed Jesus of 
Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went 
about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the 
devil, for God was with him." 

That the possessions in question were not mere diseases, 
such as epilepsy, mania, and melancholy, we think it impos- 
sible to deny. There was, no doubt, says Trench, a substra- 
tum of disease, which, in many cases, helped to lay open to 



DEMONIACAL POSSESSION. "^db 

the deeper evil, and upon ^Yhich it was superinduced ; and in 
agreement with this view, we may observe, that cases of pos- 
session are at once classed with those of various sicknesses, 
and at the same time distinguished from them by the Evan- 
gelists, who thus, at once, mark the relation and the diffe- 
rence. But the scheme which confounds these cases with 
those of disease, does not, as I think every reverent handler 
of God's word must own, exhaust the matter ; it cannot be 
taken as a satisfying solution, and this for more reasons than 
one. 

First among these reasons is the distinction, just referred 
to as having been drawn between demoniacal possessions in 
the New Testament, and mania, or maladies of various sorts 
and degrees of intensity. In Matt. viii. 16, a distinction is 
made between curing diseases and casting out devils: " When 
ihe even was come, they brought unto him many that were 
oppressed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with his 
word, and healed all that were sick.^' In Matt. iv. 24, it is 
said, " And his fame went throughout all Syria, and they 
brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers 
diseases and torments (that is, one class of afflicted beings ; 
then here is another class), and those which were possessed 
with devils ; (there is a third class), and those which were 
lunatic." There is also a distinction drawn by Luke (who 
was himself a physician, and able to distinguish natural dis- 
eases from other affections), between healing and casting out, 
as well as between diseases and devils (iv. 40, 41). "Now 
when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with 
divers diseases, brought them unto him, and he laid his 
hands on every one of them, and healed them. And devils 
also came out of many, crying out and saying, Thou art 
Christ the Son of God. '^ Now, though common diseases, such 
as palsy, lepros}^ and the like, are said to be cleansed and 
healed, when is it, or how could it be said, that they are cast 
out, and that they come out crying and saying anything ! 

In the next place, the language of our Lord was such as to 



236 DEMONIACAL POSSESSION. 

show that demoniacs were not persons merely of disordered 
intellects, but subjects of an alien spiritual might. When 
the Jews charged him " with having a devil/' why did He 
not, instead of denying and disproving the charge, adopt w^hat 
would (on the theory now opposed) have been a shorter and 
surer method, and say that there was no such thing as lio.ving 
a devil? In like manner when the Pharisees accused him 
(Matt. xii. 24) off "casting out devils by the prince of the 
devils," why did he not at once deny the possibility of such 
a thing as was charged against him, instead of admitting the 
truth of his casting out devils, and only exposing the unrea- 
sonableness of imputing it to the prince of the devils? Be- 
sides, our Saviour, as often as he approached the person that 
was possessed .with a demon, gave the command, "Hold thy 
peace, and come out of him.'' (Luke, iv. 35 ; Mark, i. 25). 
Now, what reason or propriety could there be in such a com- 
mand, if there were no spirits to come out, and only some 
diseases to be cured ? How could a mere physical distemper 
be thus addressed? 

I know it has been replied to this inquiry, that Jesus fell 
into and humored the notions of the afl3.icted in order to 
facilitate their cure ; but this reply falls to the ground in 
view of the fact that, in his most confidential discourses with 
his disciples he uses exactly the same language, as, for ex- 
ample, in Matt. x. 8, and especially xvii. 21, Avhere he says, 
" This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." An 
equally satisfactory answer may be given to the allegation of 
Strauss, and other infidels of the same rationalistic school in 
Germany, that, in speaking of demoniacal possessions, our 
Saviour expressed himself in a figurative manner, or accom- 
modated his language to the popular and prevailing notions 
of the people among whom he sojourned. Such an accom- 
modation as this cannot for a moment be reconciled with the 
character of such a teacher as Jesus, who flattered no popular 
prejudices; who was not only the truth-speaker, but the 
truth itself; and who came into our world not to make a lie 



DEMONIACAL POSSESSION. 237 

the basis of his mission, "but to put an end to all deceptions, 
to all hypocrisies, to all falsehoods, and to establish supreme. 
in each man's heart, and ultimately in the world itself, the 
sovereignty of pure truth, and of perfect righteousness. All 
the ideas which we can have of the man Christ Jesus, compel 
us to believe that he would not have used language which 
would have upheld and confirmed so great and mischievous 
an error in the minds of men, as the supposition of Satanic 
influence, which did not in truth exist. So, too, on the very 
same principle on which the various assertions in the New 
Testament in relation to this subject are, as is alleged, to be 
considered as figures of speech, we might, and perhaps would 
have to, in regard to consistency, explain away everything 
else we cannot understand, thus coming into such a state of 
uncertainty as to know not what to believe or reject; and as 
to be unable to decide whether all narrations of a miraculous 
nature, and probably all the doctrines of the Son of God, are 
not to be understood in the same figurative way. 

A third reason why the demoniacs cannot be regarded as 
only diseased persons, and especially madmen and lunatics, 
is the fact that they were so much better and so much earlier 
acquainted with our Lord's true character and office than the 
generality of the people were. Though his fame went abroad, 
his real state and condition were little known and under- 
stood, while we find the demoniacs publicly proclaiming him 
to be "the Christ, the Koly One of God, the Son of the Moat 
High God." He had but recently entered on his ministry, 
W'hen, according to Mark, i. 23, 24, "there was in the syna- 
gogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying. 
Let us alone, what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of 
Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who 
thou art, the Holy One of God.'' And, according to Luke, 
iv. 41, "devils also came out of many, crying out and saying. 
Thou art Christ, the Son of God.-'' It w\as some time after 
this that our Saviour asked his disciples (Matt xvi. 13, 14), 
" Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am ? And they 



238 DEMONIACAL POSSESSION. 

said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some, Elias, 
and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets." Thus, we 
see, that they regarded him as no more than a prophet, they 
did not generally conceive him to be the Messiah, while the 
demoniacs had a fuller and juster notion of the sacredness 
of his person, and of the dignity of his character. 

It is not an uncommon opinion that those who were pos- 
sessed by devils, because they were so possessed, must have 
been in the highest degree offensive to God ; that they were 
among the most wicked of mankind; and that it was only 
on account of their rebellion against God, their being so 
far off from his grace, and their having sinned so terribly 
against his goodness, that they were allowed to be so pos- 
sessed. We have only to examine the Scriptural account, 
however, to be led greatly to modify, if not entirely to change, 
this opinion. The only case which is an exception to this 
remark, is that of Judas, whose possession was specifically 
different from that of the other unhappy persons whom Christ 
came to deliver, inasmuch as the devil entering into him as 
the betrayer of our Lord, only entered into a mind thoroughly 
prepared for the wickedness to be accomplished. Such per- 
sons were treated by the Saviour as objects of compassion 
rather than of condemnation. They may have been guilty 
of what opened the door and courted, the inrush, as it were, 
of the evil spirits by which they were inhabited, but still their 
case, in the main, was mi:-fortune — more misfortune than it 
was crime. Hence, there was in them a groaning under the 
tyranny they endured, and a piercing cry was continually 
uttered for deliverance. This was their sad condition. They 
felt that they were overcome by a power hostile at once to 
themselves and to God, and they earnestly desired to be re- 
lieved from it. Their state was, in the truest sense of the 
word, "a possession:'^ another was ruling in the high places 
of their souls, and they knew this ; and out of the conscious- 
ness of this there went forth from them a cry for redemption. 
There seems to have been in them two wills — the will of the 



DEMONIACAL POSSESSION. 239 

victim, and the will of the spirit, driving him wherever he 
would. 

To the question, why were these demoniacal cases so nu- 
merous at the commencement of the Christian era? several 
answers may be given, li The whole religion of society was 
then in a state of transition, passing from ancient rites, which 
men saw to be insufficient, to a glorious Gospel which they were 
not prepared to receive ; and, hence, they were at sea without 
a chart or compass. 2. The world was then in a state of un- 
exampled depravity. 3. The devils had a particular reason, 
at Christ's appearance, for exerting their power and malice in 
opposition to the erection and establishment of the kingdom 
of God, and they may have been permitted to do so i*n order 
more effectually to display his power and goodness in defeating 
them. I know it is sometimes asked why such possessions were 
in those days, and are not now. But, even admitting them to 
have ceased, which some question, it might as well be asked, 
why the cholera was not known in Europe, or in India, till 
1817, or in our country till 1832, where it appeared, then was 
suspended, and afterwards showed itself again. In both 
cases there is equal mystery. We have to take the facts as 
they are, saying, *' Even so, Father, because it seemeth good 
in thy sight.'' 



" Thou truest friend man ever knew, 
Thy constancy I've tried : 
When all were false I found thee true, 
My counsellor and guide. 

The mines of earth no treasures give 
That could this volume buy : 
In teaching me the way to live, 
It taught me how to die.'' 

History informs us tliat, when Archbishop Cran- 

mer's edition of the Bible was printed, in 1538, it was 

fixed to a desk in all parochial churches, and men, 

with incredible ardor, flocked to read it. They who 

could, procured it, and they who could not, crowded 

to read it, or to hear it read in churches, where it 

was common to see little assemblies of mechanics 

meeting together for that purpose after the labor of 

the day. Many even learned to read in their old 

age, that they might have the pleasure of instructing 

themselves from the Scriptures. Mr. Fox, the mar- 

tyrologist, mentions two apprentices who joined each 

his little stock, and bought a Bible, ■which, at every 

interval of leisure, they read ; but, being afraid of 

their master, who was a zealous papist, they kept it 

under the straw of their bed. 

(240) 



READING THE BIBLE. 241 

By a law, liowever, in the 34th of Henry the 
VIIL, it was enacted, that no woman, except noble- 
women and gentlewomen, might read to themselves 
alone, or to others, any texts of the Bible, &c., nor 
artificers, apprentices, journeymen, husbandmen, 
nor laborers, were to read the Bible or New Testa- 
ment in English to themselves, or to any other per- 
son, privately or openly. 

Happily for us, in this age of light and liberty, 
we have the Bible in our ovfn tongue ; every man 
can purchase a copy of it for a very small sum, or 
receive it as a gift if he is too poor to buy it ; and, 
amidst the means of education which abound on 
every side, and the religious liberty which we enjoy, 
no one need remain unable, or feel afraid, to read 
for himself the Word of God. How great our privi- 
leges ! Hovf vast our responsibility ! What obliga- 
tion is resting upon us to improve the blessing thus 
placed within our reach ! We cannot, indeed, form 
any adequate estimate of the injury to ourselves, or 
the offence to the Almighty, which a neglect of His 
truth must involve. 

" Let a subject," says Payson, "receive a commu- 
nication from his acknowledged sovereign, and as it 
claims, so it will receive his immediate attention. 
Nor will he, especially if it contains various and im- 
portant instructions, think a hasty perusal of it suf- 
ficient. No, he will study it till he feels confident 
that he is acquainted with its contents, and under- 
stands their import. At least equally certain, and 
21 



242 READING THE BIBLE. 

equally evident is it, that every man whose heart 
acknowledges God to be his rightful sovereign, and 
who believes that the Scriptures contain a revelation 
from Him, will study them attentively, study them 
till he feels confident that he understands their con- 
tents, and that they have made him wise unto salva- 
tion. The man who does not study them, who negli- 
gently suffers them to lie, for days and weeks, un- 
opened, says, more explicitly than any words can 
say, I am Lord, God is not my Sovereign, I am not 
his subject ; nor do I consider it important to know 
what he requires of me. Carry his messages to 
those who are subject to Him, and they will, perhaps, 
pay them some attention." 

The Scriptures sliould he Read, because this is 
Divinely required. 

The very writing of them infers an obligation to 
read them ; and to refuse to do so, is to frustrate, as 
far as we can, the gracious ends and designs of their 
donation. But this duty does not rest merely on an 
inferential basis. The Jews were commanded to 
have all the words which they received from God, in 
their hearts, and to teach them diligently unto their 
children. (Deut. vi. 6, 7). The Psalmist gires it 
as the character of a good man, that ''his delight is 
in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he medi- 
tate day and night." Solomon enjoins upon us to 
" cry after knowledge, seek her as silver, and search 



READING THE BIBLE. 243 

for her as for hidden treasure." Paul says, "Let 
the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wis- 
dom." What John affirms of a part of the Bible is 
applicable to the whole (Rev. i. 8), " Blessed is he 
that readeth, and they that hear the words of this 
revelation, and keep those things which are written 
therein." And a greater than all these, even Jesus 
Christ himself, says, " Search the Scriptures, for in 
them ye think ye have eternal life, and they testify 
of me." 

The Scriptures sJwuId he Bead, because hy them 
only can we attain a competent knowledge of our 
duty and destiny. 

Emphatically may they say, as the Saviour him- 
self said, " I am the way, and the truth, and the 
life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me." 
We cannot even think of abandoning them without 
being forced to the exclamation of the disciples, 
" Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou hast the words 
of eternal life." Talk of Reason, as a sufficient 
guide to the race ! She has no just claim to any 
such character, and the individual who should ven- 
ture to follow her direction, has most fitly been, com- 
pared to a man carrying a little glimmering taper 
in his hand at noonday, with his back turned to the 
sun, and foolishly endeavoring to persuade himself 
and others that he had no need of the sun, and that 
his taper gave more light than that glorious lumi- 



244 READING THE BIBLE. 

nary. If, as some allege, she is able to guide iis in 
the path of truth and happiness, Vihj has she ac- 
complished so little in lands -where her feeble beams 
alone have striicro-Ied with the thick darkness ? Why 
did she not teach the learned Egyptians to abstain 
from worshipping their leeks and onions ? Why not 
instruct the polished Greeks to renounce their sixty 
thousand gods ? W^hy not persuade the enlightened 
Romans to abstain from adoring their deified mur- 
derers ? Why not prevail on the wealthy Phoeni- 
cians to refrain from sacrificing their infants to Sa- 
turn ? W^hy not teach the pagan philosophers the 
great doctrine of the soul's immortality, which they 
so earnestly labored in vain to discover ? No, veri- 
ly, Reason cannot lead man to a knowledge of his 
God and of himself, — his past, his present, and his 
future. Whatever may be her proper province and 
power, it is not to find and fathom the mysteries 
which Faith alone can discern. She may see that 
such mysteries exist when they are revealed to 
her, as Moses descried the promised inheritance, 
but, like him, ''she must not come into the Holy 
Land." 

"Dim as the borrowed beams of moon and stars 
To lonely, weary, -wandering travellers, 
Is Reason to the soul ; and as on high 
Those rolling fires discover but the sky, 
Nor light us here; so Reason's glimmering ray 
Was lent, not to assure our doubtful way, 
But guide us upward to a better day. 



READING THE BIBLE. 245 

And as those nightly tapers disappear, 

When day's bright lord ascends our hemisphere, 

So, pale grows Reason, at Religion's sight ; 

So dies, and so dissolves, in supernatural light." 



The Scriptures sJioidd he Bead, because tliis is one 
great means of reaching the practical benefits 
which they propose to confer. 

Tliey are "profitable for doctrine," to teach us all 
necessary truth, as well as to instruct us in such 
other parts of divine knowledge as will contribute to 
our improvement and happiness. They are profit- 
able for "reproof," to enlighten and arouse our con- 
sciences ; to show us to ourselves, and to convince 
us of our errors and sins, because they are the stand- 
ard of truth, and the rule of duty. 

They are profitable for " correction ;" to reform our 
manners and habits ; to comfort the feeble-minded ; 
to support the weak ; to make straight the crooked, 
and to raise the fallen. And they are profitable for 
" instruction in righteousness," not only to reclaim 
us from all evil, but to improve us in all holiness, to 
establish us in every good word and work, "till we 
all come, in the unity of the faith and of the know- 
ledge of the Son of God, unto the measure of the 
stature of the fulness of Christ." 

Some books may be read without any advantage, 
but not so the Bible. 
21* 



246 READING THE BIBLE. 

"^Tis revelation satisfies all doubts, 
And solves all mysteries except its own ; 
And so illuminates the path of life, 
That fools discover it and stray no more.'' 

The Bereans "received the "word with all readi- 
ness of mind ; thej searched the Scriptures daily ^ 
and, therefore, many of them believed.'' David says, 
" The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the 
soul.'" The Lord Je§us Christ prays for his people, 
'^ Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is 
truth." "And Paul says, "What things were writ- 
ten aforetime were written for our learning, that we, 
through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, 
might have hope.'' "Beholding as in a glass the 
glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same 
image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of 
the Lord." To ail these personal and precious 
benefits, arising from the prayerful and persevering 
perusal of the Scriptures, may be added the happi- 
ness which such an exercise imparts to those who 
yield themselves to it, verifying, as it does in their 
experience, the language of the Psalmist, "great 
peace have they that love Thy law," causing their 
hearts, like those of the disciples on their way to 
Emmaus, to burn within them, and enabling them 
at every stage of their Zionward progress to say 
and to sing : — 

I choose the path of heavenly truth, 
And glory in my choice ; 
Kot all the riches of the earth 
Could make me so rejoice/' 



READING THE BIBLE. 247 

Directions for Reading the Bible. 

" How readest thou?" If ever this question was 
important, it is so in regard to the Oracles of God. 
Much, perhaps all, the benefit that is derivable from 
them depends on the manner in which they are 
studied. Some resort to them only for gratification 
and entertainmicnt ; others for spiritual improve- 
ment and consolation. One reads, and is converted 
from the error of his ways. Another is guided in 
his experimental and practical doubts and difficul- 
ties. Another still, is revived while walking in the 
midst of trouble. Some float for ever on the surface 
of admitted truths, fearful to rise above the level 
over which they have hovered from the first moment 
of consciousness. These resemble those birds v/hich 
feed upon the insects dancing on the water; Vfho 
never rise into the air, but always skim the surface 
of the lake, on the borders of which they received 
life. Others, on bold, adventurous wing, rise into 
the trackless regions of m.ystery, till they sink from 
the pride of their elevation, perplexed and ex- 
hausted. These, by aiming at too much, lose every 
thing. Because they have attempted unsuccessfully 
to investigate that which God has been pleased to 
put out of the reach of human comprehension, they 
will not believe any thing ; they embrace a system 
of universal skepticism. So, Noah's dove beheld on 
every side a boundless expansion of waters: and 
whether she rose or sunk, was equally bewildered, 



248 READING THE BIBLE. 

and found no rest for the sole of her foot. There 
is one point of difference, and that is, that she re- 
turned to the ark ; but they too often are found to 
turn despisers, who wonder and perish. 

The Bible should he Read with an honest, humble, 
and teachable mind. 

Prejudice, like the jaundice, diffuses its own color 
on every object that it surveys. When men ap- 
proach the Scriptures full of their own preposses- 
sions, they strive not so much to ascertain the sense 
of the truth revealed, as to bend and accommodate 
the revelation to their preconceived opinions. In- 
stead of conforming their faith to the Word of God, 
they wrest and pervert it so as to make it suit their 
peculiar bias. Freedom from prejudice is an es- 
sential qualification for learning any truth, but es- 
pecially divine truth; for, in the reception of it, a 
good heart is as much needed as a good understand- 
ing." " The state of the heart," it has well been 
said, " has the chief influence in the search after 
truth: humility, contrition, simplicity, sanctity, 
these are the handmaids of the understanding in the 
investigation of religion." This is but an affirmation 
in other words, of that saying of our Lord, " If any 
man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine 
whether it be of God." We should come to the pe- 
rusal of the Scriptures, with minds as clear and un- 
tainted, as free from partiality, as open to convic- 



READING THE BIBLE. 249 

tion, and as susceptible of good impressions as in 
tlie state of childhood. High thoughts of ourselves 
should be cast away. It is the pride of the under- 
standing Yfhich has made so many infidels. They 
have been wise above what was written, and wiser 
in their own eyes than men who could render a rea- 
son. It is our duty not to lean to our own under- 
standing, but submit to be instructed by God, re- 
membering that, if Reason were a sufficient guide, 
there would be no need of Revelation. ''As new- 
born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that 
ye may grow thereby." " Whosoever shall not re- 
ceive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall 
not enter therein." " God resisteth the proud, but 
giveth grace unto the humble." " The meek will he 
guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his 
way." 



The Bible should he Mead as an Inspired Booh. 

It is one thing not to question this, and another, 
and a very different thing, actually and frequently 
to impress the mind with it. I enter not into any 
argument to prove that "holy men of God spake " 
and wrote " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 
I do no more than refer to their profession of being 
inspired, and the sublime and holy truths which they 
uttered, and the mighty miracles which they wrought 
in confirmation of their claim, and the wonderful 
prophecies which their writings contain. It is enough 



250 READING THE BIBLE. 

to know, on authority wliicli has never been shaken, 
that ^^ all Scripture is given by inspiration of God." 
How much depends on remembering and feeling this ! 
Let the word he regarded as human, and it will in- 
fluence as human ; but let it be read as divine, and 
it will operate divinely. "For this cause, also," 
says the Apostle, "we thank God without ceasing, 
because, when ye received the word of God which 
ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of 
men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which 
effectually worketh also in you that believe." — 
1 Thess. ii. 13. 

The Bible should he Head Intelligently. 

If not understood, of course it cannot profit. It 
is a good thing to begin with the easiest and plainest 
parts, and by degrees proceed to those which are 
more obscure and difficult. In the old Testament 
we should read Psalms and Proverbs, and similar 
portions ; and then the historical books in their 
chronological order ; and then the Prophets. In 
the New Testament we should take up first the Gos- 
pels , afterwards ih.Q Acts of the Apostles, then the 
Epistles, in their order of time, and conclude with 
Revelation. It is a good thing, also, when we have 
commenced a paragraph or subject, to read on till 
we have come to the end of it, regardless of the 
division in chapters and verses. These breaks are 
useful, and they are generally made in their proper 



READING THE BIBLE. 251 

places, but not always ; in consequence of winch, the 
sense is injured or darkened by the writer's closing 
before he has finished, or commencing something 
in the middle of the argument. Too much stress 
should not be laid on a particular word or phrase, 
but we should be guided by the natural current of 
the passage, and endeavor always to apprehend 
what is the ijresent design of the sacred writer. 
We should " compare spiritual things with spirit- 
ual ;" the writings of one author with another, and 
the same author with himself, and thus, while avail- 
ing ourselves of every assistance from the labors 
of others, endeavor to make the Word of God as 
much as possible its own interpreter. Spiritualizing, 
so called, frequently betrays great weakness of 
intellect. Some passages, indeed, must be under- 
stood spiritually, but it would be a sad mistake to 
imagine that the spiritual meaning is some far- 
fetched allegory. Most passages, in their plain, 
literal, grammatical sense, convey a spiritual mean- 
ing, and establish some spiritual truth. 

The Bible should he Bead in a Prayerful Frame 

of Mind. 

The Holy Spirit, who first indited the Scriptures, 
must enlighten our minds to perceive their precious- 
ness, and soften our hearts to feel their power. It 
is His province to lead us into all truth. David felt 
this when he offered the earnest prayer — " Give me 



252 READING THE BIBLE. 

understanding that I may know Thy testimonies : 
make me to understand the Y/ay of Thy precepts : 
so shall I talk of Thy wondrous works." We should, 
then, be thoroughly persuaded that we cannot sav- 
ingly understand the Bible without divine teaching, 
any more than a blind man can perceive the light 
of the sun, or a dead man feel its warmth. The Spirit 
of God alone, by his secret influences, can open our 
eyes, and if we ask for this blessing, we have every 
reason to hope it will be granted. Such is the 
priceless promise : "If any of you lack wisdom, let 
him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and 
upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." 

The Bible sliould he Read with Constant and Spe- 
cial Reference to Jesus Christ. 

It is emphatically '' the word of Christ." Its his- 
tories are a record of the scaftblding that preceded 
his advent, and the fabric that was carried on after 
his resurrection. " To Him gave all the prophets 
witness." From Him the i^romises derive all their 
force, and beauty, and sweetness. From Him the 
ceremonial part receives all its meaning and consis- 
tency. Of Him the doctrinal part is full, — his 
righteousness, sacrifice, and intercession, being 
among the leading and distinguishing truths of 
Christianity. And with Him the practical part is 
also replete ; His example being our pattern ; His 
love our motive ; His law our regulating directory, 



READING THE BIBLE. 253 

and His glory our end. We must hearken, there- 
fore, to the Saviour, as He says, " Search the Scrip- 
tures, for they testify of Me.'' He is the key that 
unlocks this sacred treasury, and opens to us what 
before were mysteries. ^' To understand and enter 
into His various offices and characters," says Cecil, 
"the glories of His person and work — his relation 
to us, and ours to Him, and to God the Father and 
Spirit through Him — this is the knowledge of Christ. 
To know Jesus Christ for ourselves, is to make Him 
our consolation, delight, strength, righteousness, 
companion, and end." 



The Bible should he Read with solemn regard to its 
Personal and Practical hearings. 

Every man has his " own salvation" to work out. 
Every man is called to take care of his " own soul," — 

" That mysterious thing, 
Which hath no limit from the walls of sense, 
No chill from hoary time, — with pale decay 
No fellowship, — but shall stand forth unchanged, 
Unscorched amid the resurrection fires, 
To bear its boundless lot of good or ill.'' 

The Bible, moreover, is entirely a practical book. 
Its precepts prescribe our duty ; its invitations call 
us to perform it ; and its promises, and threatenings, 
and prophecies, and doctrines, and cautions, and 
admonitions, are all motives to such performance. 
22 



254 READING THE BIBLE. 

We must, therefore, be " doers of the word, and 
not" readers "only, deceiving our ownselves." 

We should search the Scriptures — search them 
frequently^ too. A portion of every day should be 
set apart for this important work, and no business 
be allowed to interfere with the appointed duty, 
connected, as it is, with an interest vast as eternity. 
If we cannot spare hours, we should snatch mo- 
ments ; and if we cannot peruse many chapters, we 
should read single verses, and treasure them in our 
memories. But, whilst thus faithful, we must read, 
not merely to learn the Divine will, but to obey it. 
Our knowledge must be influential. Our minds must 
not only be enlightened, but our conscience and life 
must be ruled and rectified. "If ye know these 
things, happy are ye if ye do them." We should 
act in the spirit of the prayer, " Blessed Lord, who 
hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our 
learning, grant that we may in such wise hear them, 
read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that 
by patience and comfort of thy Holy Word we may 
embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed hope of ever- 
lasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour 
Jesus Christ." Amen. 



€n llMii tjiB SdiUb tljrniigli in n ^ml 



Read three chapters daily, and five on the Sabbath ; that 
is, two chapters in the Old Testament, and one daily in 
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Solomon's Song, and the 
New Testament — three on the Sabbath. 

The Old Testament, without these four books, contains two 
chapters a-day for the year ; and the New Testament, with 
the four books, has one chapter a-day, and three for Sabbath 
days, le&s eight chapters. 

Read Psalm 119 as eleven chapters, of two divisions each, 
and connect the short Psalms, 117 and 131, with the next, and 
133 and 134 together — thus adding eight chapters to complete 
the year. February 29, in leap year, is left out, so as not to 
derange the list. 



January, 1, 


Genesis, 1, Psalms, 1 


8, 


15, 


10 


15, 


29, 


19 


22, 


43, 


28 


29, 


Exodus, 7, * 


37 


February, 5, 


21, 


46 


12, 


35, 


55 


19, 


Leviticus, 9, * 


64 


26, 


23, 


73 


March, 5, 


Numbers, 10, ' 


82 


12, 


24, 


91 


19, 


Deut. 2, 


100 


26, 


16, 


109 



(255) 



256 TO READ THE BIBLE THROUGH 

April, 2, Deut. 30, Psalms, 118 

9, Joshua, 10, " 119 

V. 145 

16, " 24, «' 127 

23, Judges, 14, " 138 

30, ISam. 3, " 147 

May, 7, " 17, Prov. 6 

14, « 31, " 15 

21, 2 Sam. 14, " 24 

28, 1 Kings, 4, Eccles. 2 
June, 4, " 18, " 11 

11, 2 Kings, 10, S. Song, 8 

18, " 24, Matt. 9 

25, 1 Chron. 13, " 18 
July, 2, " 27, " 27 

9, 2 Chron. 12, Mark, 8 

16, " 26, Luke, 1 

23, Ezra, 4, " 10 
30, Neh. 8, " 19 

August, 6, Esther, 9, John, 4 

13, Job, 13, " 13 

20, " 27, Acts, 1 

27, " 41, " 10 

September, 3, Isaiah, 13, " 19 

10, " 27, " 28 

17, " 41, Romans, 9 

24, " 55, 1 Cor. 2 
October, 1, Jer. 3, " 11 

8, " 17, 2 Cor. 4 

15, " 31, " 13 

22, " 45, Ephes. 3 

29, Ezekiel, 2, Coloss. 2 
November, 5, " 16, 2 Thess. 2 

12, " 30, 2 Tim. 2 

19, " 44, Hebrews, 3 

26, Daniel, 10, " 11 



WITHIN THE YEAR. 257 



Pecember, 3, 


Hosea, 


11, 


1 Peter, 


3 


10, 


Amos, 


9, 


1 John, 


4 


17, 


Neh. 


1, 


Kev. 


5 


24, 


Zech. 


5, 


<( 


14 


31, 


Mai. 


4, 


(( 


22 



" Blessed Lord, "wbo hast caused all Holy Scriptures to he 
■written for our learning, grant that we may in such wise 
hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, 
that, by patience and comfort of Thy Holy Word, we may 
embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting 
life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
Amen.'' 



22* 



ItripiurB (gxplnnntiniiH. 

Armor. — The armor of a Roman vramor -wiil illustrate Eph. vi. 14-17. 

Ablution.— Tor the eastern manner of washing the hands, see 2 Kings iii. 11. 

Attitudes of Adoration. — 1 Chrou. xxix. 20. 

Books. — The ancient books were made of papyrus, or Egyptian reed, and after- 
wards of parchment. They were rolled up like mercers' silk on a roll of 
wood. Isa. Tiii. 1 : Jer. xxxvi. 2. 

Bottles of Leather. — These were the wine-bottles, old and rent, mentioned Josh. 
ix; -i, and Matt. ix. 17. 

Civic Crowns. — These are often alluded to in Scripture. They were generally 
made of olive, pine, laui'el, apple or parsley, and were bestowed on the 
victors in the games, 1 Cor. ix. 25, &c. 

Gates. — The eastern gates of cities were usually places of great resort; here 
justice was administered. &c., Ruth ix. 11 ; 2 Sam. xv. 2, &c. 

Grave-clothes. — Were folds of linen wrapped round the body. 

Sandmill. — Matt. xxiv. 41. The handmill was about two feet in diameter, 
and half a foot thick. The upper stone moved round by a handle of wood. 
It is common for two women to work the mill, pushing the handle round 
alternately. 

Horns of the Altar. — These were the projecting corners of the altars, to which 
the victims are supposed to have been tied at the time of sacrifice, Exod. 
xxvii. 2; 1 Kings ii. 28. 

House-top. — This in the east was used for walking, sleeping, and making procla- 
mation. Matt. X. 27 ; Luke v. 19 ; xii. 3; xvii. 31. 

Hyhe, or Gurvient. — An Arab Hyke, or outward garment, explains many pas- 
sages where garments are mentioned — these being loose, and easily thrown 
oil', still leaving the person with close clothing. The more modern dresses 
of the east still retain a loose outer garment, Mark xi. 7, <S:c. The Arab's 
Hyke forms his bed as well as his day-clothing. 

Jaclcals. — These were the foxes generally mentioned, Psa. Ixiii. 10; Judg. xv. 4; 
Cant. ii. 15. 

Locusts— An insect about two inches and a half long; visits parts of the east in 
myriads, and is most destructive to vegetation, Exod. x. 4; Joel i. 4; Matt, 
iii. 4, &c. 

Palm-tree. — A valuable tree, used for many purposes, and bearing much precious 
fruit, Psa. xcii. 12. Its branches were symbols of joy and triumph, Rev.vii.9. 

Phylactery. — Matt, xxiii. 5. Phylacteries were strips of parchment on which 
were written sentences of the law ; they were bound on the left arm. 

Sandals.— 'iolas bound to the feet. Mark vi. 9. 

Stingers. — The ancient sling needs little description. The Eenjamites used it with 
skill : it was whirled round several times, and then the stone or bullet 
went with tremendous force to distances of from 400 to 600 feet, Judges xx. 
16; 1 Sam. xvii. 49. 

Tents, or Tabernacles. — The habitations of people of the early ages, and the now- 
wandering tribes of Arabia, Ileb. xi. 9. 

TerapJiim. — These are often called images in Scripture; Nebuchadnezzar con- 
sulted his Teraphini, Ezek. xxi. 21. 

Tombs in Idumea. — Tombs in the east were commonly cut out of the rocks, of 
which there are still many remains. 

Treading Corn. — This was done by oxen driven round the threshing-floor, Deut. 
XXV. 4, &c. 

Tail. — The vail is a kind of hood, scarf, or mantle, worn by eastern females 
to conceal their faces. 

War-chariot. — 'War-chariots were generally distinguished by hooks or scythes 
attached to the axles, Joshua xvii. 16. &c. 

Water-wheel.— 1h\s, was one method of watering with the foot» the wheel being 
turned both by foot and hand, Deut. xi. 10. 

Wrestling.— E^^ vL 12. The wrestlers were noted men in the Olympic games. 

(258) 



ARRANGED IN THE ORDER OF SCRIPTURE. 



Gen. 


2 
3 


u 


4 


(( 




a 


11 


a 


12 


i( 


14 


« 


19 


« 


22 


11 


41 


Exod. 


2 


" 7 


-12 


it 


12 


a 


14 


(( 


16 


(( 


17 


(( 


20 


« 


32 


« 


39 


Ley. 


10 


Numb. 16 


(( 


21 


Josh. 


8 


(' 


6 


C( 


10 


Jud^. 


.7 


« 


11 


« 


16 


1 Sara 


. 5 


« 


6 


" 


7 


« 


10 


« 


17 


2 Sam 


. 6 


1 Kings 8 1 


" 


13 


u 


17 


" 


18 


2 Kings 2 


« 


13 


" 


19 



Creation. 

Fall of man. 

First murder. 

Deluge. 

Babel, and confusion of 
tongues. 

Calling of Abram. 

First recorded battle. 

Sodom & Gomorrah burned. 

Abraham offers Isaac. 

Joseph's elevation. 

Moses saved. 

Plagues of Egypt. 

Passover established. 

Red sea passed. 

Manna provided. 

Rock yields water. 

Law given. 

Golden calf worshipped 

Tabernacle completed. 

Nadab and Abihu devoured 
by fire. 

Korah, Datban, and Abiram 
swallowed up. 

Brazen serpent. 

Jordan passed over. 

Jericho taken. 

Sun and moon stand still. 

Midianites routed by Gideon 

Jephthah's vow. 

Death of Samson. 

Dagon falls before the ark. 

The ark sent back. 

Philistines defeated by thun- 
der at Ebenezer. 

Anointing of Saul. 

Goliath slain. 

Uzzah smitten. 

Dedication of the temple. 

Disobedient prophet slain. 

Elijah fed by ravens. 

Elijah's contest with the 
priests of Baal. 

Elijah's translation to hea- 
ven, 

Elisha's mockers devoured 
by bears. 

Elisha's bones raise the dead 
man. 

Sennacherib's defeat. 



l2Kings20| 


'' 


20 


Ezra 


1 


" 


3 


Neb. 


4 


Esth. 


1 


'• 


2 


a 


6 


" 


7 


Job 


2 


Jer. 


S8 


Dan. 


3 


li 


4 


a 


5 


" 


6 


Jonah 


1 


" 


3 


Matt. 




a 


3 


(I 


4 


« 


^ 


(( 


10 


« 


14 


<( 


17 


(( 


21 


" 


24 


" 


26 


« 


27 


a 


28 


Luke 


1 


" 


7! 



Hezekiab's life lengthened. 

Jerusalein taken and burnt 
by Nebuzar-adan, Nebu- 
chadnezzar's captain. 

Cyrus's degree. 

Temple begun. 

Sanballat's opposition to re- 
building Jerusalem. 

Ahasuerus's feast. 

Esther made a queen. 

Mordecai raised to honor. 

Haman hanced. 

Job's calamities. 

Jeremiah in the dungeon. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abednego in the fiery fur- 
nace. 

Nebuchadnezzar's dreadful 
malady. 

Belshazzar's feast. 

Daniel in the lion's den. 

Jonah swallowed up. 

Nineveh's repentance. 

Christ's bii-th. 

Wise men of the East seek 
Jesus, Herod's plot against 
Christ defeated. 

Joseph and Mary escape 
with Jesus into Egypt. 

Herod slays the young chil- 
dren. 

John the Baptist preaches 
in the wilderness. 

Christ's baptism. 

Christ's temptation. 

Sermon on the Mount. 

The twelve apostles sent out. 

John the Baptist beheaded. 

Christ's transfiguration. 

Christ's entrance into Jeru- 
salem. 

Christ predicts the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem. 

Lord's Supper. 

Christ's agony. 

Peter denies Christ. 

Christ's crucifixion. 

Christ's resurrection. 

John the Baptist's birth. 

Woman washes Christ's feet j 

(259 ) 



260 



M E :,I R A B L E EVENTS, 



Acts 12 
" 13 



14 



Luke 10 Martha and Mary entertain 
I Jesus. 
'• 20, Christ silences the Phari- 
I sees when asking subtle 
questions. 
'■ 241 Disciples at Emmaus. 
John 2j Marriage in Cana. 
" 3 Nicodemus visits Christ. 

John the Baptist's testi- 
mony to Christ. 
" 4 Womau of Samaria. 

" 8 Woman taken in adultery 

released. 
" 12 Mary anoints Christ's feet. 
" 13 Christ washes the disciples' 

feet. 
" 14 Christ's last discourse. 
" 21 Christ's appearance after his 
resurrection. 
Acts 1 Christ's ascension from 
Mount Olivet. 
Pentecost. 
Peter and John heal the 

lame man. 
Ananias andSapphira struck 

dead. 
The apostles work miracles, 
Released from prison by an 

nger. 
First appointment of dea- 
cons. 
Martyrdom of Stephen. 
Philip and the eunuch. 
Saul's conversion. 
Peter cures ^neas of palsy, 
Peter raises to life Tabitha 
or Dorcas. 
10 Cornelius and Peter. 
12 Herod kills James. 

Peter imprisoned, and re 
leased by an angel. 

N. B. The miracles of Christ are here omitted, being arranged under the head 
Miracles. 



2 Cor. 11 
12 
Gal. 2 
2 Thess. 2 
ITim. 4 
Rev. 1 



Herod's blasphemy and aw- 
ful end. 
Paul and Barnabas sent to 

the Gentiles. 
Paul heals a cripple at Lys- 
tra, and the people would 
have worshipped him. 

Paul and Barnabas separate. 

Timothy circumcised. 

Lydia converted. 

Possessed damsel cured. 

Paul and Silas imprisoned. 

Jailor converted. 

Paul's discourse at Athens. 

Sceva the Jew's seven sons 
exorcists. 

Ephesians burn their books 
of magic. 

Demetrius, the silversmith, 
raises an uproar. 

Eutychus restored to life. 

Paul's farewell to the elders 
of Ephesus. 

Paul at Jerusalem, and un- 
der accusation. 

Paul recites his conversion, 

Paul before Felix. 

Paul before Festus, Felix's 
successor. 

Paul before Agrippa. 

Paul shipwrecked. 

Paul shakes off a viper. 

Publius and others cured. 

Paul a prisoner at Rome. 

Paul's perils. 

Paul's ecstasy. 

Paul rebukes Peter. 

The great apostasy predicted 
John banished to Patmos. 



Sons of 
Japhet. 



Gomer. 

Macros?. 

Miidai. 

Javan, 

Tubal. 

Meshech. 

Tiras. 



®ripu nf JliitinnB. 

NOAH'S SONS. 



SHEM. HAM. 



JAPHET. 



Gen. x.-JAPHET'S SONS.* 



Principal countries 
peopled by them. 
Asia Minor. Armenia. 
Caucasus. Europe. 



Principal natione sprung from them. 



Russians, Germans, Gauls, Britons. 
Scythians. 

Medes. — So Josephus. 
lonians and Athenians. 
Iberians. — Josephus. And Albanians. 
Moscovites. 

Thracians ; or the People of the Hellespont 
now called the Dardanelles. 



SHEM'S SONS. 



Elam. 

Asshur. 

Arphaxad. 

Lud. 
Aram. 



Cush. 
Mizraim. 
Phut. 
Canaan. 



Assyria. Syria. Persia. 
Arabia N. Mesopota- 
mia, 



Elamites, or Persians. 

Assyrians. 

"Chaldeans are Arphaxadeans." ■ 

phus. 
Lydians. — So Bishop Watson. 
Syrians, Armenians. 



■Jose- 



HAM'S SONS. 



Arabia. Egypt. North 
coast of Africa. 



Ethiopians, or Abyssinlans. 

Egyptians. 

Lybians. 

Canaanites. 



* Gen. X. 5. "By these were the isles" &c. The word translated Isles rather 
means countries, especially those washed by the sea. 



(261) 



iBntljBn 3finnarr!j3 partitulnrlij mBntiniirli in 

WITH THE KINGS OF JUD^A, OF THE IDUMEAN RACE. 



Scriptures. 



Gen. XX. 



xxvi. 



xxi. 27. 



Abimelech (1.) 



Philistia. 



Abimelech (2.) 



Josh. X. 1. 



Judges i. 1-7. 



1 Sam. XV. 28, 32. 



Acts XXV. 13. 
Dau. ix. 1. 



Achish. 



Adoni-bezek. 



Adoni-zedec. 



Agrippa. 
iihasuerus (1.) 



Jerusalem. 
Palestine. 



Amalekites in 
Arabia. 



Kemarks. 



Media. 



The name seems to have 
been a titular distinction 
given to the kings of the 
Philistines, and signifies 
"Father of a king," or 
" Royal father." This 
king took Sarah, Abra- 
ham's wife, into his ha- 
rem, from which she was 
miraculously delivered. 
He formed a league of 
peace with Abraham. 
Another Philistine king 
of Gerar of this name. 
The same danger over- 
took Iti'l-ickah which at- 
teiidud iSarah. bnt Abime- 
lech relinquished her 
on finding she was a 
wife. lie had some dis- 
pute with Isaac about 
wells, but renewed the 
old covenant of peace. 
The Philistine king of 
Gath, with whom David 
twice sought refuge from 
Saul. 

He bore the name of king, 
but was only a petty 
prince of Bezek, near 
Sheehem. He had, how- 
ever, conquered seventy 
others, to whom he 
showed great cruelty, 
llis territory was the 
first conquest after the 
death of Joshua. 
He was king of Jerusalem 
when the Israelites en- 
tered Canaan. Conquered 
by Joshua. 

Agag, a cruel prince, slain 
by Samuel. The name 
seems to have been com- 
mon, or titular. Numb, 
xxiv. 7. 
See " Herod." 
Incidentally mentioned as 
the iiither of Darius the 
Mede. He is believed to 
be the Astyages of pro- 
fane history, and the last 
king of Media. 



(262) 





HEATHEN 


MONARCHS. 263 


Scriptures. 


Kings. 


Countries. 


Remarks. 


Ezra iv. 6. 


Ahasuerus (2.) 


Persia. 


This is thought to have 
been the tyrant Cam- 
byses. To this Ahasuerus 
the enemies of the Jews 
wrote an accusation. 


Esther i. 1. 


Ahasuerus (3.) 


a 


This is the king who mar- 
ried Esther. 


Numb. xxi. 1-3. 


Arad. 


Canaanites. 


He commenced the war 
with the Israelites which 
ended in the destruction 
of the nations of Canaan. 


Matt. ii. 22. 


Arcbelaus. 


Idumea ; Ju- 


He was a tetrarch, by the 






daea; Sama- 


will of his father, Herod 






ria. 


the Great, to whom this 








part of his kingdom was 
allotted. He was the most 
cruel of Herod's sons, on 
account of whom Joseph 
feared taking the infant 
Saviour into Judaea. 


Ezra iv. 10. 


Asnapper. 


Assyria. 


This prince is usually iden- 
tified with Esarhaddom. 


Numb. xxii. 


Balak. 


Moab. 


The king who, terrified at 
the approach of the Is- 
raelites, applied to Ba- 
laam to curse them. 


Dan. V. 


Belshazzar. 


Chaldea. 


He perished in the taking 
of Babylon by the Medes 
and Persians, and was the 
last king of the Chaldeans 


1 Kings XV. 18. 


Ben-hadad (1.) 


Syria. 


Subsidized by Asa, king of 
Judah, to invade Israel, 
in the days of Baasha. 


1 Kings XX. &c. 


Ben-hadad (2.) 




Son of the preceding. He 








warred continually with 
Ahab, and afterwards 
with Jehoram, his son; 
was several times defeated 
miraculously in the days 
of Elisha; was smothered 
by Hazael, who usurped 
his throne. 


2 Kings xiii. 


Ben-badad (3.) 


<( 


Son of the usurper Hazael, 
thrice defeated by Jeho- 
ash, king of Israel. 


— XX. 12. 


Berodach-baladan. 


Babylonia. 


A king of Babylon, who 
lived in friendship with 
Hezekiah. 


Luke ii. 1. 


CeesarAugustus(l) 


Koman. 


Csesar was a titular dis- 
tinction, conferred on 
all the Eoman emperors, 
after Julius Ceesar, with- 
out the mention of their 
proper names. Augus- 
tus, &c. He decreed the 
taxing, or enrolment, at 
the time of Christ's birth, 
Judaea being then a Ro- 
man province, and its 








king subject to Caesar. 



264 


HEATHEN 


MONARCHS. 


Scriptures. 


Kings. 


Countries. 


Remarks. 


Luke iii. 1. 


Tiberius Ceesar(2.) 


Roman. 


In tbe fifteenth year of his 


- XX. 22. 






reign, John the Raptist 
commenced his ministry. 
It was to him the chief 
priests and scribes al- 
luded -n-hen they asked 
Christ if he ought to have 
tribute. 


Acts xi. 28. 


Claudius Caesar(3.) 


(( 


In whose days there was 
a great dearth. 


Acts XXV. 8, 10, 12. 


Nero Caesar (4.) 


(I 


To whom Paul appealed 
from the inferior tribu- 
nals of Judaea. 


Gen. xiv. 


Chedorlaomer. 


Elam. 


Leader of the five kings 
who invaded Canaan, in 
the time of Abraham. 


Judg. iii. 10. 


Chusan-risha- 


Mesopotamia. 


Made Israel tributary eight 




thaim. 




years, but conquered by 
Othniel, its first judge. 


Ezra i., &c. 


Cyrus. 


Persia; 


He was remarkably men- 






Media; 


tioned by name in the 






Babylon, by 


prophecies of Isaiah as 






conquest. 


the restorer of the Jews 
from Babylon. (Chapters 
xliv., xlv). 
He obtained the dominion 


Dan. ix. 1. 


Darius (1.) 


Msedo-Persian. 








overBabylon on the death 








of Belshazzar. He is 








called, in profane his- 








tory, Cyaxares II., son 








and successor of Asty- 








ages, (Ahasuerus,) and 








the immediate predeces- 








sor of Cyrus. 


Ezra iv. viL; 


Darius (2.) 


Persia. 


The king who effected the 


Haggai; 






execution of the decrees 


Zech. 






of Cyrus to rebuild the 
temple. &c. He is called 
in profane history Darius 
Hystaspis. 


Nehe. xii. 22. 


Darius (3.) 


<( 


Incidentally mentioned; 
the succession of priests 
being registered up to his 
name. 


Judg. iii. 


Eglon. 


Moab. 


He subdued the Israelites 
eighteen years, and was 
killed by Ehud. 


Isa. XX. 1; 


Esarhaddon. 


Assyria. 


Son of Sennacherib, whom 


2 Kings xix. 37. 






he succeeded on the 
throne. He conquered 
Jerusalem, and carried 
Manasseh captive. 


1 Kings xvi. 31. 


Ethbaal. 


Zidon. 


The father of Jezebel. 


Gen. xxxTi. 25. 


Hadud 


Edom. 


He defeated the Midian- 
ites in the intervening 
territory of Moab. This 
is the only king of Edom 
whose exploits are men- 
tioned by Moses. 



HEATHEN MONARCHS 



265 



Scriptures. 



2 Sara. Tiii. 3; 
1 Chron. sviii. 3. 



2 Sam. X. 
2 Kings viii. 



Matt. ii. 12-16. 



2 Sam V. 



1 Kings v., ix., x. 

1 Chron. ii.; 

2 Chron. viii. 



Josh. xi. 1. 



Kings. 



Hanun. 
Hazael. 



Herod (1.) 



Ilerod Antipas(2.) 



Herod AgrippaC3.) 



Hiram (1.) 



Hiram (2.) 



Jahin (1,) 



Countries. 



Zobah. 



Judasa. 



Galilee &Perea 



Tyre. 



Hazor in Ca- 
naan. 



Eemarkf 



A powerful monarch in 
the reign of David. He 
sustained a dreadful de- 
feat by the Israelites. 

He insulted David by 
abusing his ambassadors. 

An offtcer of Benhadadwho 
smothered his master and 
usurped his throne. He 
was extremely cruel, and 
a great pest to both Judah 
and Israel. 

Called Ilerod the Great; 
son of Antipater, an Idu- 
mean nobleman. He was 
declared King of Judaea 
by the sanction of Au- 
gustus Cfesar, b. c. 30. 
He was the founder of 
several cities, and rebuilt 
the temple. He was the 
murderer of the children 
at Bethlehem. 

Son of Ilerod the Great,and 
Tetrarch of Galilee and 
Perea. He married bis 
brother's wife, murdered 
John the Baptist, and 
mocked Josus.Luke xxiii. 

Nephew of Ilerod Antipas, 
and grandson of Herod 
the Great, being the son 
of Aristobulua, who was 
murdered by his father. 
He murdered the apostle 
James, and sought the 
life of Peter. This pre- 
sumptuous prince died 
awfully by the visitation 
of God. 

He sent an embassy to 
David on his accession, 
which led to an alliance. 
He considerably aided 
David with materials and 
workmen when he built 
his palace. 

Grandson of the above, he 
ascended his throne in 
the last year of David, 
and was the ally of Solo- 
mon, whom he greatly as- 
sisted in buildingthe tem- 
ple and carrying on his 
commercial enterprises. 

Defeated by Joshua in the 
battle of Merom, when 
attempting with a power- 
ful alliance to oppose his 



23 



266 


HEATHEN 


1 
MONARCHS. 


Scriptures. 


Kings. 


Countries. 


Remarks. 


Judges iv. 


Jabin (2.) 


Canaan. 


Supposed grandson of the 
former, defeated by De- 
borah and Barak; and 
Sisera his commander, 
slain by Jael. 


Isaiah xxxix.; 


Merodach-Baladan 


Babyloniah. 


A king friendly to Heze- 


1 2 Kings XX. 12. 






kiah. 


1 Sam. xi. 


Nahash (1.) 


Ammonites. 


He besieged Jabesh-Gilead, 
and proposed a surrender 
on cruel conditions. Saul 
attacked and completely 
destro5'ed his army. Some 
say he was killed in the 
battle, but no evidence of 
it exists. Some think he 
was the friend of David, 1 
Sam. X., 1 Chron. xix., but 
others consider that to be 
another Nahash. 


2 Sam. xvii. 27 ; 


Nahash (2.) 


(( 


Thought to have been son 


— xxii. 






of the above, friendly to 
David. 


2 Kings xxiv. ; 


Nebuchadnezzar. 


Babylonia. 


A haughty despot, employ- 


Daniel ii., iii., iv. 






ed by God to execute his 
judgments ; he set up the 


2KingsxxT. 1; 






golden image, &c. 


Jer. xxxix. 1; 


Nebuchadnezzar. 


(( 


The same king; compare 


Ezek. xxix. 






the texts. 


Numb. xxi. 


Og. 


Bashan. 


A giant of the race of Ee- 


Deut. iii. 






phaim, conquered and 
slain by Moses. 


Gen. xii. 15, &c. 


Pharaoh (1.) 


Egypt. 


A titular name, long given 
to the earlykings of Egypt 
known to Abraham. 


— xxxix., &c. 


Pharaoh (2.) 


" 


The friend of Joseph. 


Exod. i., ii. 


Pharaoh (3.) 




The oppressors of the Is- 
raelites ; supposed to have 
been Ramses. 


— iii., XV. 


Pharaoh (4.) 


tt 


He perished in the Red 
Sea, supposed to have 
been Amenophis. 


1 Kings xi. 1. 


Pharaoh (5.) 


ce 


Who protected Hadad the 
Edmonite inthe earlvpart 
of the reign of David. 


1 Kings iii. 1; 


Pharaoh (6.) 


a 


Thought to have been Ta- 


— is.. 16. 






phres, or Osochos, whose 
daughter was married to 
Solomon. 


1 Kings xi. xiv. ; 


Pharaoh (7.) 


« 


Pharaoh Shishak. See Shi- 


2 Chron. xii. 






shak, as his name does 
not occur in Scripture as 
Pharaoh. 


2 Kings xvii. 4. 


Pharaoh (8). 


'« 


Pharaoh So. Eor the same 
reason, see So. 


2Kingsxviii.21; 


Pharaoh (9.) 


(C 


An ally of king Hezekiah. 


— xxiii. 29, &o. 


Pharaoh-necho 


(C 


He slew king Josiah in 


2Chr'n.xxxv.20,&c 


(10.) 




battle. 


Jer. xliv. aO. 


Pharaoh-hophra. 


et 


The aUy of Zedekiah, king 




(11.) 




of Judah. 





HEATHEN 


MONARCHS. 267 1 


Scriptures. 


Kings. 


Countries. 


Remarks. 


2 Kings XV. 19, 20. 


Pul. 


Nineveh. 


The first sovereign of Nin- 
eveh, whose name we 
know. For a large re- 
ward he established Me- 
nahem on the throne of 
Israel. 


2 Kings XV., xvi. ; 


Rezin. 


Syria. 


lie combined with Pekah, 


2 Chron. xxviii. 






king of Israel, to invade 
Judah in the reign of 
Ahaz, in which he was 
successful. 


2 Kings xix. 


Sennacherib. 


Assyria. 


Son and successor of Shal- 
manezer. He invaded Ju- 
dea in the days of Ileze- 
kiah, and his army of 
185,000 was cut off by the 
visitation of God in one 
night. 


2 Kings xvii. 3. 


Shalmaneser. 


ii 


He succeeded Tiglath-Pile- 
ser, and preceded Senna- 
cherib. He carried Israel 
into captivity in the days 
of King Iloshea. 


1 Kings X.; 


Sheba, Queen of. 




Her name unknown ; sup- 


2 Chron. ix. 






posed to have been a 
queen of Arabia, or Ethio- 


1 Kings xiv. 25. 


Shishak. 


Egypt. 


He invaded the territory 
of Rehoboam, king of 
Judah, and carried away 
Solomon's treasures. 


Numl3.xxi.21, &c. 


Sihon. 


Amorites. 


Refused a passage to the 
Israelites, attacked them, 
was defeated, and slain. 


— xvii. 4, 


So. 


Egypt. 


He became tlie ally of Ilo- 
shea, king of Israel, but 
rendered him no aid when 
Shalmanezer subverted 
his kingdom. 


2 Kings xvi. 


Tiglath-Pilesor. 


Assyria. 


In profane history Arba- 
ces, successor of Sardana- 
palus.predecessor of Shal- 
manezer. He killed Re- 
zin, king of Syria.and car- 
ried his people into cap- 
tivity ; ravaged Judea, 
and commenced the cap- 
tivity of Israel by carry- 
ing away the two tribes 
and a half. 


— XIX. 


Tirhakah. 


Ethiopia 


He went with a powerful 
army to relieve Hezekiah, 
when attacked by Senna- 
cherib, who Avas routed 
before he arrived. 


2 Sam. viii. 9-11. 


Toi. 


Hamath. 


Who sent congratulations 
and presents to David, 
when he had conquered 
Hadadezcr. 








1 



SHOTtTS-G THE PHOGjLESS 01? THE SEASONS, THE PREVAILrXG WIXDS, AT^D WEATHES, FOE 
EACH MONTH IN THE TEAR. 





PROGRESS OF THE SEASONS. 


WIND. 


TTEATHER. 


i 


Country yerdant with young corn, 
groves and meadows adorned with 
many flowers. Oranges begin to 
ripen. 


N.W., N.,N. E. 


Heavy rains ; th under 
storms. Occasionally 
snow, and thin ice ; 
ground never frozen. 


1 


Almond-tree and peach-tree in blos- 
som: in the lower and warmer 
parts, orange- tree laden with ripe 
fruit. 


N. Vr., N., N. E. 


Heavy rains, etc.. in 
Jan. and Feb.. called 
by the Arabs the 
" fathers of rain." 


1 


All trees in full leaf, many in bloom. 
In the lowlands, orange and lem- 
on-trees laden with fruits. Palm- 
tree blossoms : barley ripening. 


W. 


Rain. hurricanes, 
sometimes snow ; 
rivers much swol- 
len. 




Fruits of oleaster and whit« mul- 
berry ripcu. Barley harvest. 
"Wheat harvest beginning. 


. 


Occasionally rain ; 
sometimes Sirocco 
from the s. E. 




Principal harvest month, especial- 
ly of wheat. Apricots and apples 
ripen, (in Jordan valley vegeta- 
tion withered and burnt up). 


s. 


Hain very seldom; 
from this to Sep- 
tember no rain oc- 
curs. 




Almonds ripe. (Beyrouk honey of 
the Jordan valley collected in 
May, June, and July.) Grapes 
begin to ripen. 


£. 


Frequent hot winds, 
(Simoons;) air mo- 
tionless. 


t 


Various fruits : apples, pears, plums, 
etc. Grapes fully ripe. Pump- 
kins. Harvest of corn in the 
higher mountains. 


E. 


Greatest heat in gen- 
eral; sky serene. 




Principal fruit month. Grapes, 
figs, etc.; in the plains, walnut 
and olive. 


E. 


Dews begin to fall ; at 
times large and dense 
clouds, (Nile clouds). 




Commencement of vintage. Har- 
vest of the dourra and maize. 
Cotton and pomegranate begins. 


N. E. 


Much lightning with- 
out thunder; very 
rarely rain. 


1 


End of vintage. Gathering of 
cotton. Ploughing and sowing 
commence. Pistachio-nuts ripen. 


N. E. 


Dews very heavy; 
autumnal rains be- 
gin. 


1 


Month of ploughing and sowing. 
Rice harvest. Fig-tree laden 
with fruit. Orange and citron- 
tree in bloom. 


N. W., N., N. E. 


Rainy month, Thun- 
der storms. Rains 
from the w. or s. w. 


1 


Trees lose their leaves. The brown 
and desolate plains and deserts 
become green pastures. 


N. W., N., N. E. 


Bainy, etc. In Dec, 
Jan., and Feb.. great- 
est amount of rain 
in the year. 



(268) 



%mi\il (Capitals iittir EenamnBii €llm. 



Ezra vi. 2. 

Acts xxvii. 6. 

— xvii. 1. 

— xi. 19, 26. 



— xiii. 14; 

— xiv. 19. 
Numbers xxi. 28; 

Deut. ii. 9, 29 ; ■ 

Isaiah xv. 1. 
2 Sam. t. 20. 



2 Kings, xvii. 24. 



1 Sam. xxxi. 10. 



Matt. ii. 1 ; 
Mic. V. 2. 



Isaiah Ixiii. 1, &c. 
Acts X. xii., xxiv. 



Scripture Names. Country 



Gen. XV. 2 ; 
Acts ix. 



2G* 



Achmetha. 

Alexandria. 
Amphipolis 

Antioch. 

Ditto. 
Ar. 

Askelon. 

Babylon. 

Beth-shan. 



Bethlehem, or 
Betfilehem Eph- 
ratah. 

Bozrah. 

C^sarea; (Pales- 
tina.) which dis- 
tinguishes this 
city irom Caesa- 
rea Philippi. 



Damascus. 



Persia. 



Egypt. 



Greece. Paul 
sailed from this 
city to Home. 
Syria. 



Asia Minor. 
Moab. 



Palestine. 



Chaldea. 



Syria. 



Palestine. 



Ditto. 



Syria. 



Remarks. 



In the royal palace here, 
were found the recxDrds of 
Cyrus's decree for re- 
builains: Jerusalem. 

Founded by Alexander the 
Great, n. c. 332. 

Visited by Paul and Silas. 



The capital of Upper Syria. 
Here the disciples were 
first called Christians. 

The capital of Pisidia. 
Here Paul was stoned. 

The capital of Moab; de- 
stroyed by an earth- 
quake, A. D. 350. 

A city of the Philistines, 
seat of one of their five 
states. 

The ancient royal city of 
Assyria, erected on the 
site of the tower of Ba- 
bel. To this city Shal- 
manezer carried the chil- 
dren of Israel captive. 

A principal city of the De- 
capolis, on the walls of 
which the Philistines 
fastened the bodies of 
Saul and his sons. 

A small city of Judah, 
where Christ was born, 
and where David was 
crowned king by Samuel. 

A chief city of the Edom- 
ites. 

The Roman metropolis of 
Palestine, and residence 
of the procurator. Here 
Cornelius, the first-fruits 
of the Gentiles, was con- 
verted ; here Paul plead- 
ed before Felix and Fes- 
tus and king Agrippa; and 
in its amphitheatre He- 
rod Agrippa awfully ex- 
pired. Herod the Great 
built this city twenty 
years before Christ. 

The ancient capital of Sy- 
ria, and the oldest exist 
ing city in the world. 



(269) 



270 ANCIENT CAPITAL 


S AND RENOWNED CITIES. 1 


Acts xix. ; 


Scripture Names. 
Ephesus. 


Country. 


Remarks. 1 


Greece. 


The capital of Ionia. Here 


Eev. ii. 






■was the renowned temple 
of Diatia, and here one i 
of the seven churches. | 


1 Sam. xxi. 10, 


Gath. 


Palestine. 


A fortified city of the Phi- j 
listines. Here David \ 
feigned himself mad be- 
fore king Achish. 


Judges xvi. 1, 3. 


Gaza. 


Ditto. 


A principal city of the 
Philistines, the gates of 
which Samson carried 


Josh. X. 33. 


Gezer. 


Ditto. 


away. 
The king and all his army 
were defeated by Joshua. 


— ii. 1. 


Jericho. 


Ditto. 


The first city taken in Ca- 
naan by Joshua. 


1 Chron. xi. 4 ; 


Jerusalem ; called 


Ditto. 


The capilal of Judea. 


Josh. XT. 63; 


Jebus; 






Gen. xiv. 18 ; 


Salem; and 






Isaiah xxix. 1, 2. 


Ariel. 






1 Kings xxi. 


Jezreel. 


Ditto. 


In this city some of the 
kings of Israel had a pa- 
lace, particularly Ahab. 
It was in the centre ot 
Canaan. 


Hos. ix. 6. 


-Memphis. 


Egypt. 


The residence of the kings 
of Egypt in the days of 
the Ptolemies. 


Luke ii. 39. 


Nazareth. 


Palestine. 


A small city, where Christ 
dwelt till he was thirty 
years of age, and in the 
.synagogue of which he 
preached. 

Now a part of Turkey, an- 


Jon. 1. 2. 


Nineveh. 


... 








ciently the metropolis of 








Assyria. 


1 Sam, xxi., xxii. 


Nob. 


Palestine. 


A city of the Levites, where 
.king Saul massacred the 
priests and their families 


Isaiah xix. 13. 


Noph, (see Mem- 
phis.) 


... 




Gen. xU. 45. 


On,(orHeliopolis.) 




Joseph married the daugh- 
ter of the High Priest of 
that city. 


Rev. i. 11; 


Pergamos. 


... 


A city of Asia Minor, famed 


— ii. 12. 






for a temple to Escula- 
pius, the god of medi- 
cine. One of the seven 
churches was here. 


— 1.11. 


Philadelphia. 


Ancient Lydia. 


One of the seven chxxrches 






Now Turkey! 


was here. 


Exod. i. 11. 


Pithom. 


Egypt. 


An Egyptian store city, 
built by the captive Is- 
raelites. 

The capital city of the 


2 Sam. xii. 26. 


Kabbah or Eab- 


Palestine. 


I.. 


bath. 




Ammonites, besieged by 
Joab, and taken by Da- 
vid. 



ANCIENT 


CAPITALS AND RENOWNED CITIES. 271 j 




Scripture Names. 


Countries. 


Remarks. 


Exod. i. 11. 


Rameses. 


Egypt. 


An Egyptian store city, 
built by the captive Is- 
raelites. 


Acts xxTiii, 14. 


■'ome. 


Italy. 


Founded B. c. 75.3 : the ca- 
pital of the ancient Ro- 
man empire. Here Paul 
dwelt two whole years. 


— xiii. 5, &c. 


Sal amis. 


Greece. 


Chief city of the island of 
Cyprus, where Sergius 
Paulus, the Roman Go- 
vernor, was converted by 
Paul. 


1 Kings xvi. 21. 


Samaria. 


Syria. 


The capital of the kingdom 


- XX. 1. 






of Israel, built by king 
Omri. 


Rev. iii. 1-6. 


Sardis. 


Turkey. 


The capital of ancient 
Lydia, famous for its rich 
pagan king, Croesus. One 
of the seven churches. 


Dan.Tiii. 2; 


Shush an. 


Persia. 


The royal city of Persia, 


Esth. iii. 15. 






for the winter residence 
of its kings. 


Gen. X. 15, 19; 


Sidon. 


Palestine. 


The celebrated commercinl 


— xlix. 13. 






city and capital of the 
Phoenicians, built soon 
.after the deluge, by Si- 
don, son of Canaan. 


Ezek. XXX. 15, 16. 


Sin. 


Egypt. 


A strong city of the an- 
cient Pelusium. 


Rev. i. 11. 


Smyrna. 


Syria. 


A city of Asia Minor. One 


- ii. 8. 






of the seven churches of 
Asia. 
The most southern city of 


Ezek. xxix. 10. 


Syene. 


Egypt 


— XXX. 6. 






the Thebais, bordering on 
Nubia. 


1 Kings ix. 18. 


Tadmor, (Palmy- 


Syria. 


Built or rebuilt as a store 


2 Chron. viii. 4. 


ra.) 




city, by Solomon. 


Jer. ii. 16. 


Tahapanes, 


Egypt. 


A royal city of Egypt, 




(Daphne Pelu- 




where the principal Jews 




sic£e.) 




retired when Jerusalem 
was desolated by Nebu- 
chadnezzar. 


Acts xvii. 1. 


Thessalonica. 


Turkey. 


A dty and sea-port of Mar 
cedonia. 


— xvi. 14 


Thyatira. 


Ditto. 


A city of Asia Minor. One 
of the seven churches of 
Asia ; famous for dyeing 
purple. 


1 Kings xiv. 17. 


Tirzah. 


Palestine. 


A royal city, where several 
kings of Israel resided. 


Isaiah xxiii. 


Tyre. 


Ditto. 


A celebrated city and seat 


Ezek. xxvii. 






of Phoenician commerce. 





r" 



EBmnrltahlB 3Hntin{iims nni lilli 



1 

Numb, xxxiii. 48. 


Scriptures Names 


Country. 


Remarks. 


Abarim. 


Palestine. 


On this range of mountains 








Balak tempted Balaam 








to curse Israel. 


Qen. TiL 4. 


Ararat. 


Armenia. 


Here the ark rested at the 
deluge. 


Isa. IxTiii. 15. 


Bashan. 


Palestine. 


Remarkable for its height. 


Luke xxiii. 33. 


CalTary. 




A common place of execu- 
tion, -where Christ was 
crucified. 


1 Kings xviii. 19. 


Carmel. 




On this mount Elijah had 
his trial against the 
priests of Baal. 


Joshua Tiii. 30. 


Ebal. 


(( 


Here Moses pronounced 
twelTe curses against the 
disobedient. 


1 Sam. i. 1. 


Ephraim. 


" 


This mount was the birth- 
place of Samuel. 


Joshua Tiii. 32. 


Gerizim. 


(( 


Here Moses pronounced 

twelTe blessings. 
Here Joshua wrote the 

law on stone. 
Here Jotham deliTered his 

parable. 


1 Sam, xxxi. 1. 


Gilboa. 


(( 


Here Saul and his sons fell 
in battle with the Philis- 
tines. 


Gen. xxxi. 21. 


Gilead. 


<( 


On this mount Laban 
OTertook Jacob, and 
searched for his images. 


1 Sam. xxiii. 19. 


riachilah. 


« 


On this hill DaTid hid 
awhile from Saul. 


Ps. cxxxiii. 3. 


Hermon. 


« 


Celebrated for its dews. 


Deut. xxxii. 49. 


Nebo. 


(( 


From this mount Moses 
Tiewed the promised land. 


Matt. xxiv. 3 


OliTes, or OliTet, 


(( 


Here Christ preached his 


John Tiii. 1. 


the ancient name. 




sermon. 


1 Sam. XT. 30. 






By this mount BaTid es- 
caped from the conspiracy 
of Absalom. 


Numb, xxiii. 28. 


Peor. 


" 


Here Balaam blessed in- 
stead of cursing Israel. 


Deut. xxxiv. 1. 


Pisgah. 


a 


The highest point of mount 
Nebo, where Moses stood 
to Tiew the good land. 


1 Kings xTi. 24. 


Samaria. 


ec 


On this hill Omri built the 
city. 
Ahab was buried here. 




1 





(272) 



REMARKABLE RIVERS AND LAKES. 278 j 




Scripture Names. 
Seir or Hor. 


Country. 
Palestine. 


Remarks. 


Gen. xiv. 6. 


Belonged first to the Ho- 








rites. and was afterward 








given to Edom. 


Exod. xix. 18. 


Sinai. 


Arabia 


Here the law was given. 


Judges iv. 6. 


Tabor, 


Palestine, 


Here Deborah and Barak 
collected 10,000 men to 
attack Sisera. 


llBmnrknhU %hm flnii Inlta 




Name. 


Country. 


Why remarkable. 


2 Kings T. 12. 


A ban a. 


Damascus. 


Commended by Naaman. 


John iii. 22, 23. 


.5;non. 


Palestine. 


Here John baptized. 


Ezra viii. 15, 21. 


Ahava. 


Media. 


Here Ezra proclaimed a 
fast prior to returning 
from captivity. 


Judges xi. 18. 


Arnon. 


Syria. 


The boundary of Moab. 


Ezek. i. 1. 


Chebar. 


Ancient Chal- 


Near this river Ezekiel saw 






dea. 


his first vision. 


Ezek. xlvii. 18. 


East Sea, (see Salt 
Sea, Sea of the 
Plain.) 


Syria. 


Salt (or Dead) sea. 


Josh. XV. 4. 


Egypt, Iliver of. 


Egypt. 




Gen. ii. 14. 


Euphrates. 


Babylonia. 


A principal river of Eden. 


Matt. iv. 18. 


Galilee, Sea of, Ti- 






John vi. 1, or 


berias, Cinneroth 






Numb, xxxiv. 11. 


or Chinnereth. 






Luke V. 1. 


Genuesaret. 


Palestine. 


Miraculous draught of 
fishes. 


Gen. ii. 1.3. 


Gihon. 


Persia. 


Second river in Eden. 


Matt. iii. 5, 6, 13. 


Jordan. 




Christ baptized in the 
river— the principal one 
in Palestine. , 


2 Kings V. 12. 


Pharpar, (now 
Barrada.) 


Damascus. 


Commended by Naaman. 


Gen. ii. n. 


Pison. 


Persia. 


The first river of Paradise. 


Deut. iv. 49. 


Plain, Sea of, (see 
East and Salt 
Seas.) 


Palestine 




Exod.xiii. 18;xiv 


Red Sea. 


Arabia. 


Here Pharaoh's host was 


27. 






drowned. 


Numb, xxxiv. 3. 


Salt Sea. (see East 

Sea.) 
Sihor, (the Nile.) 






Isa. xxiii. 3. 


Egypt. 






" 





1 


f 


t^txn. 




Scripture Names. 


Subjects. 


Gen. 24. 


Abraham's servant. 


Success in his mission. 


— 32. 


Jacob. 


Protection against Esau. 


Exod. 32. 


Moses. 


Forgiveness for idolatrous Israel. 


— 33. 


a 


For the Divine presence. 


Num. 12. 


" 


For Miriam, when smitten with leprosy. 


- 14. 


a 


For pardon for Israel murmuring at the 

reports of the spies. 


Deut. 3. 


a 


To enter Canaan. 


Judges 16. 


Samson. 


To be avenged on his enemies. 


1 Sam. 1. 


Hannah. 


For a man-child. 


2 Sam. 7. 


David. 


Prayer and thanksgiving after Nathan's 
message concerning his intention to build 
the temple. 


11 Kings 8. 


Solomon. 


Dedication of temple. 


— 18. 


Elijah. 


In contest with priests of Baal. 


2 Kings 19. 


Hezekiah. 


Protection against Sennacherib. 


- 20. 


li 


When dangerously ill. 


1 Chron. 4. 


Jabez. 


For the Divine blessing. 


2 Chron. 6. 


Solomon. 


(See above, 1 Kings viii.) 


- 14. 


Asa. 


"VVhen going to battle with Zerah the Ethio- 


- 20. 


Jehoshaphat. 


pian. 
For protection against the armies of the 
Moabites and Ammonites. 


— 30. 


Hezekiah. 


For the unprepared for keeping the pass- 
over. 


Ezra 9, 


Ezra. 


Confession of sin in the people's alliances 
with the heathen. 


Neh. 1. 


Nehemiah. 


For the remnant in captivity. 


— 4. 


(( 


For protection against Sanballat and To- 
biah. 


— 9. 


Levites. 


Confession of God's goodness, and their na 
tion's sins. 


Prov. 29. 


Agur. 


For moderation in his desires. 


Isa. 37. 


Hezekiah. 


(See above, 2 Kings xix.) 


— 38. 


« 


(See above, 2 Kings xx.) 


Jer. 14. 


Jeremiah. 


In a great famine. 


Dan. 9. 


Daniel. 


For the restoration of Jerusalem. 


Jonah 2, 


Jonah. 


For deliverance from the fish. 


Ilab. 3. 


Habakkuk. 


For revival of God's work. 


iMatt. 6. 


Lord's Prayer. 




— 26. 


Jesus. 


Under suffering in Gethsemane. 


— 27. 


11 


Suspension of Divine consolation 


Luke 11. 


Lord's Prayer. 




— 18. 


Publican's prayer. 


For Divine mercy. 


22 


Jesus. 


(See above, Matt, xxvi.) 


— 23.' 


" 


For his murderers. 


— 23. 


Dying thief. 


To be remembered by Jesus. 


John 12. 


Jesus. 


Imploring his Father's aid. 


— 17. 


« 


For himself, his apostles, and aU believers. 


Acts 1. 


Apostles. 


On choosing an apostle. 


— 4. 


Primitive church. 


For support under persecution. 



(274) 



Our Father. — Isaiah Ixiii. 16. 

1. By right of creation. Malachi ii. 10. 

2. By bountiful provision. Psalms cxlv. 16. 

3. By gracious adoption, Ephesians i. 5. 

Who art in Heaven. — 1 Kings Tiii. 43. 

1. The throne of thy glory. Isaiah Ixvi. 1. 

2. The portion of thy children. 1 Peter i. 4. 

3. The temple of thy angels. Isaiah Ti. 1. 

Hallowed he thy Name. — Psalms cxv. 1. 

1. By the thoughts of our hearts. Psalms Ixxxvi. 11. 

2. By the "words of our lips. Psalms li. 15. 

3. By the works of our hands. 1 Corinthians x. 31. 

Thy Kingdom co?ne.— Psalms ex. 2. 

1. Of Providence to defend us. Psalms xvii. 8. 

2. Of grace to refine us. 1 Thessalonians v. 23. 

3. Of glory to crown us. Colossians iii. 4. 

Thy will he done on Earth as it is in Heaven. — Acts xxi. 14. 

1. Towards us, without resistance. 1 Samuel iii. 18. 

2. By us, without compulsion. Psalms cxix. 36. 

3. Universally, without exception. Luke i. 6. 

4. Eternally, without declension. Psalms cxix. 93. 

Give us this Day our daily Bread. 

1. Of necessity, for our bodies. Proverbs xxx. 8. 

2. Of eternal life, for our souls. John, vi. 34. 

And forgive us our trespasses. — Psalms xxv. 11. 

1. Against the commands of thy law. 1 John iii. 4. 

2. Against the grace of thy gospel. 1 Timothy i. 13. 

As we forgive them that trespass against us. — Matthew vi. 15. 

1. By defaming our characters. Matthew v. 11. 

2. By embezzling our property. Philemon 18. 

3. By abusing our persons. Acts vii. 60. 

And lead us not into temptation, hut deliver us from evil. — Matthew xxvi. 41. 

1. Of overwhelming afflictions. Psalms cxxx. 1. 

2. Of worldly enticements. 1 John ii. 15. 

3. Of Satan's devices. 1 Timothy iii. 7. 

4. Of error's seduction. 1 Timothy vi. 10, 

5. Of sinful affections. Romans i. 26. 

Ibr thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glm'y, for ever. — Jude 25. 

1. Thy kingdom governs all. Psalms ciii. 19. 

2. Thy power subdues all. Philipians iii. 20, 21. 

3. Thy glory is above all. Psalms cxlviii. 13. 

Amen. — Ephesians i. 11. 

1. As it is in thy purposes. Isaiah xiv. 27. 

2. So is it in thy promises. 2 Corinthians i. 20. 

3. So be it in our prayers. Revelation xxii. 20. 

4. So shall it be to thy praise. Revelation xix. 4. 

(275) 



Iijnilinlirnl InnguagE mil 


hit tljB $nrtB ml 




1 


Texts. 


Symbols. 


Meanings. 


Jer. iii. 8, 9 ; v. 7. 


Adultery. 


Idolatry. 


Kev. i. 20 ; ii. 1, &c. 


Angel. 


Messenger, hence minister. 


Ps. X. 15. 


Arm. 


Power. 


Ezra XXX. 21, &c. 






Job vi. 4. 


Arrows. 


Judgments. 


Kev. xvii. 18. 


Babylon. 


Rome. 


Dan. vii. 17. 


Beast. 


A tyrannical heathen monarch. 


Job XXX. 30. 


Black. 


Affliction — anguish. 


Joel ii. e. 






Isa. xxix. 18. 


Blindness. 


Ignorance. 


Rom. xi. 25. 






Isa. xxxiv. 3. 


Blood. 


Slaughter — death. 


Ezek. xxxii. 6. 






Job xviii. 15. 


Brimstone. 


Desolation — torments. 


Rev. xiv. 10. 






Rev. xxi. 9. 


Bride. 


The church of Christ. 


John iii. 29. 


Bridegroom. 


Christ, wedded to his church. 


Ps. xxii. 12, &c. 


Bulls. 


Violent enemies. 


Rev. ii. 10. 


Candlestick. 


Church. 


Ps. Ixviii. 18, &c. 


Chariots. 


Heavenly hosts. 


James i. 12. 


Crown. 


Yictory — reward. 


Rev. ii. 10. 






Ps. xxiii. 5. 


Cup. 


Divine blessings. 


Isa. Ii. 17. 




Divine judgments 


Jer. xxiii. 1. 


Darkness. 


Misery — adversity — ignorance. 


Amos iv. 13. 






Eom. xiii. 12. 






Isa. xxxiv. 8, &c. 


Day. 


An indefinite time — a prophetic 


Rev. ii. 10, &c. 




year — gospel period. 


1 Thess. V. 5, &c. 






Matt. XV. 26. 


Dogs. 


Gentiles — impure persons — per- 


Rev. xxi. 8. 




secutors. 


Ps. xxii. 16. . 






1 Cor. xvi. 9. 


Door. 


An opening. 


Rev. xii. 9. 


Dragon. 


Satan, 


Isa. xxix. 9. 


Drunkenness. 


Effects of Divine judgments. 


Rev. vi. 12, &c. 


Earthquakes. 


Revolutions. 


Prov. XV. 3. &c. 


Eyes. 


Knowledge. 


Ps. xxxvi. 16, &c. 


Face. 


The Divine favor. 


Jer. V. 28. 


Fat. 


Abundance. 


Isa. xlii. 25, &e. 


Fire. 


Judgments. 


Rev. vii. 3, &c. 


Forehead. 


A public profession. 


Jer. xi. 4. 


Furnace. 


Affliction. 


Rev. iii. 4, &c. 


Garments. 


Outward appearance. 


Ps. cxlvii. 13. 


Gates. 


Power — security. 


Job xii. 18. 


Girdles. 


Strength. 


Matt. XXV. 33. 


Goats, 


Wicked persons. 


Ezek. xxxviii. 2. 


Gog and Magog. 


God's enemies. 


_ xxxix.ll. 






Rev. XX. 8. 







(276) 



SYMBOLICAL LANGUAGE. 277 


Texts. 


Symbols. 


Meanings. 


Rev. viii. 7. 


Grass. 


The lower orders, opposed to 
trees, the higher orders. 


- xi. 19. 


Hail. 


Divine vengeance. 


Ps. xviii. 35. 


Hand, right 


Protection — support. 


— lxxiii.23. 






p]zek. Tiii. 1. 


Hand of the Lord. 


Divine influence. 


Joel iii. 13. &c. 


Harvest. 


A time of destruction. 


Eph. i. 23, &c. 


Head. 


Rule or ruler. 


Isa. xiii. 33. 


Heavens. 


Political or ecclesiastical govern- 


Hag. ii. 2, 21. 




ments. 


Zech. X. 23. 


Horse. 


War and conquest. 


Matt. T. 6. 


Hunger and thirst. 


Spiritual desires. 


Rev. V. 8. 


Incense. 


Prayer. 


Ps. cxx. 6. 


Jerusalem. 


Church of God. 


Ileb. xii. 22, &c. 




The heavenly state. 


Rev. i. 18. 


Keys. 


Power and authority. 


1 Kings XV. 4. 


Lamp. 


A successor or offspring. 


Ps. cxxxii. 17. 






Esther viii. 16. 


Light. 


Joy — prosperity. 


Isa. viii. 20. 




Knowledge — bitternesss. 


Eph. V. 8, &c. 


Moon, [see Sun.] 




Zech. iv. 7. 


Mountain. 


A state — Christ's church. 


Isa. ii. 2. 






Rom. xvi, 25, &c. 


Mystery. 


Not a thing unintelligible, but 
never before made plain. 


Rev. iii. 17. 


Naked. 


In the sinful state of nature. 


Isa. xxi. 12. 


Night. 


Adversity — affliction — ignorance. 


Rev. xxi. 25. 






Isa. ii. 13. 


Oaks. 


Men of rank and power. 


Ps. xxiii. 5. 


Oil. 


Abundance — fertility —joy. 


xeii. 11, &c. 






Rev. vii. 5. 


Palms. 


Victory. 


Luke xxiii. 43. 


Paradise. 


Heaven. 


Rev. ii. 7. 






Ps. xviii. 2. 


Rock. 


A secure refuge. 


— ii. 9. &c. 


Rod. 


Authority — correction. 


Job ix. 34, &c. 






Col. iv. 6, &e. 


Salt. 


Purity — barrenness. 


Deut. xxix. 23. 






Isa. Ii. 42. 


Sea in commotion. 


An army. 


Sol. Song, iv. 12. 


Seal. 


Security — secresy. 


Isa. xxix. 11. 






Gen. iii. 1, &c. 


Serpent. 


The devil. 


2 Cor xi. 3. 






Rev. xii. 9. 






John X. 11, 16, &c. 


Sheep. 


Christ's disciples. 


Nahum iii. 18. 


Shepherds. 


Rulers, civil or ecclesiastical. 


Ezek. xxxiv. 2, &c. 






Ps. Ixxxiv. 9. 


Shield. 


Defence — protection. 


Eph. vi. 16. 






1 Thess. iv. 14. 


Sleep. 


Death. 


Isa. i. 6, &c. 


Sores. 


Spiritual maladies. 


Num. xxiv. 17, &c. 


Star. 


A prince or ruler. 


Joel ii. 31. &c. 


Sun,moon,and stars. 


The various governors in a state. 


Isa. xxxiv. 5. 


Sword. 


War and slaughter. 


Ezek. xxi. 3, &c. 






Deut. xxviii. 13. 


Tail. 


Subjection — degradation. 


Prov. XXX. 14. 


Teeth. 


Cruelty. 



24 



278 SELAH. 


Texts. 


Symbols. 


Meanings. 


Gen. xii. 4, &c. 
Jer. iv. 31. 

Gal. iv. 19. 
Zech. ii. 1, 2. 
Ps. Ixxx. 8, &c. 
Isa. V. 1, &c. 
Ezek. iii. 17. 
Ps. Ixix. 1. 

Isa. viii. 7, &c 
Iv.l, 
Dan. ix. 24. 
Eev. xii. 6. 
Isa. xxviii. 8. 

Jer. Ii. 1. 
Isa. XXV. 6. 
Iv. 1, &c. 

Ps. Ix. 3, &c. 
Isa. Ixiii. 3. 

llev. xiv. 19. 
Ps. xvii. 8, &c. 
Isa. xi. 6. 

Ixv. 25. 
Ezek. xxvi. 2. 3. 

Rev. xii. 1. 
Dent, xxviii. 48. 

Matt. xi. 29, 30. 

Lam. iii. 27, 


Throne. 
Travail. 

Trees. 

Vine. 

Tineyard. 

Watchtower. 

Waters. 

Week. 

Wilderness. 

Wind. 

Wine. 

Winepress. 

Wings. 
Wolves. 

Woman. 

Yoke. 


Kingdom or government. 
Anguish — anxiety. 

The great and noble. 
The church of God. 

The prophets. 

Afflictions — multitudes — ordi- 
nances. 

Seven years. 
Afflicted state. 
Judgments— destructive war. 

Spiritual blessings— Divine judg- 
ments. 

Slaughter. 

Protection. 

Furious, ungodly persons. 

City, or body politic. 
The Church of Christ. 
Labour — restraint. 


The translators of the Bible have left the Hebrew word, SelaJi, which occurs 
so often in the Psalms, as they found it; and. of course, the English reader 
often asks his minister, or some learned friend, what it means. And the 
minister, or learned friend, has most often been obliged to confess ignorance, 
because it is a matter in regard to which the most learned have by no means 
been of one mind. The Targums, and most of the Jewish commentators, give 
to the word the meaning of eternally, for ever. Rabbi Kimchi regards it as a 
sign to elevate the voice. The authors of the Septuagint translation appear 
to have regarded it as a musical or rythmical note. Herder regards it as indi- 
cating a change of tone. Matheson thinks it, as a musical note, equivalent, 
perhaps, to the word, repeat. According to Luther and others, it means 
silence. Gesenius explains it to mean — "Let the instruments play and the 
singers stop." Wocher regards it as equivalent to sursum corda, — up, my 
soul ! Sommer, after examining all the seventy-four passages in which the 
word occurs, recognises in every case "an actual appeal or summons to 
Jehovah. They are calls for aid and prayers to be heard, expressed either 
with entire directness, or if not in the imperative, ' Hear. Jehovah! or, awake 
Jehovah!' and the like, still earnest addresses to God that he would remem- 
ber and hear," &c. The word itself he regards as indicating a blast of trumpets 
by the priests. Selah, itself he thinks an abridged expression used for Hig- 
gaion Selah — Higgaion indicating the sound of the stringed instruments, 
and Selah a vigorous blast of trumpets. 

1 





nn h i 


]t $irnmisB0* 


Isa. liv. 11. 


Afflicted. 


thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, &c. 


Ps. xxxiv. 19, 


Afflictions. 


Many are the afflictions of the righteous, &e. 


1 Cor. iii. 21, &c. 


All things. 


All things are yours, &c. 


Rom. viii.28. 




All things work together for good, &c. 


Ps. xci. 11. 


Angels. 


He shall give his angels charge over thee, &c. 


Zech. xi. 8. 


Apple of his eye. 


He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of 
his eye. 


Matt. xxi. 22 


Ask. 


All things,whatsoever ye shall asJc in prayer. 


— Tiii.7. 




Ask, and it shall be given you. 


John xvi. 24, 




Ask, and ye shall receive. 


James ii. 5. 




If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God. 


John xvi, 23. 




Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my 
name, &c. 




- XV, 7. 




Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be 
done unto you, &c. 




Matt. XV. 8. 


Asketh. 


For every one that asketh receiveth, &c. 


Rev. xxii. 17. 


Athirst, 


And let him that is athirst, come, &c. 


— xxi. 6, 




I will give him that is athirst, &c. 




Jer. iii. 12. 


Backsliding, 


Return, thou backsliding Israel, &c. 


22, 


, 


Return ye, backsliding children, &c. 


Hos. xiv. 4, 


Backsliding, 


I will heal their hacksUdings, Ac. 


2 Chron. xx, 20. 


Believe. 


Believe on the Lord your God, so shall ye be 
established, &c. 


IPet. ii. 6. 


Believeth, 


He that believeth on him shall not be con- 
founded. 


John vii. 38. 




He that believeth on me, as the Scripture 
hath said, out of his belly, &c. 


— vi. 47. 




He that believeth on the Son hath everlast- 
ing life. 


IIos. ii. 19. 


Betroth, 


I will betroth thee unto me for ever, &c. 


Ps. xxxiv. 18. 


Broken heart. 


The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a 
broken heart. 


— cxlvii. 3. 




He healeth the broken in heart, &c. 


- Ii. 17. 


Broken spirit. 


The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. 


Isa. xlii. 3. 


Bruised reed. 


The bruised reed shall he not break, &c. 


Ps. Iv. 22. 


Burden. 


Cast thy burden upon the Lord, &c. 


Isa. Ixv. 24, 


Call. 


And it shall come to pass, that before they 
call I will answer, &c. 


Jer. xxxiii. 3. 




Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and 
show thee great, Ac. 


Ps. xci. 15. 




He shall call upon me,and I will answer him. 




Zech. xiii. 9, 




They shall call on thy name, and I will hear 
them, &c. 


Joel ii. 32. 





Whosoever shall call upon the name of the 
Lord shall be delivered. 


Rom. X. 13. 




Whosoever shall call upon the name of the 








Lord shall be saved. 


1 Pet. V. 7. 


Care. 


Casting all your care upon him, for he 
careth for you. 


Eccl. xi. 1. 


Cast. 


Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou 
^ Shalt find it, &c. 
The Lord will not cast q^his people. 


Ps. xciv. U 


Cast off. 


John vi. 39. 
L 


Cometh. 


Him that cometh to me 1 will in no wise cast 
out. 

1 



(279) 



280 



KEY TO THE PROMISES. 



Isa. li. 3. 
Isa. li. 13. 

— xii. 1. 

John xir. 16. 

18. 

Isa. Ivii. 18. 
Rev. xxii. 14. 

John XV. 10. 
Prov. xvi. 3. 
Mic. vii. 19. 
Rom. viii. 1. 

— X. 9. 
Matt. X. 32. 
Prov. xxviii. 13. 
Ps. li. 17. 

Isa. Ivii. 15. 

— Ixvi. 2. 

Ps. 1. 23. 

Isa. iv. 8. 

Ps. Ixxxix. 34. 
1 Pet. V. i. 

Rev. ii. 10. 

Isa. xxviii. 5. 

Ps. cxlv. 19. 

Isa. XXX. 19. 

Ps. xxxiv. 15. 

Isa. Iviii. 9. 
Matt. X. 42. 

Isa. 1. 10. 

Rev. xiv. 13. 



Comfort. 

Comforted. 

Comfortedst. 

Comforter. 
Comfortless 
Comforts. 
Commandments. 

Commit. 
Compassion. 
Condemnation. 
Confess. 

Confesseth. 
Contrite. 



Conversation. 
Covenant. 



Crown. 



Cry. 



Cup of coldwater 

Darkness. 

Dead. 



The Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort 

all her waste places. 
God hath comfort&i his people, and will 

have mercy upon his afflicted. 
Though thou wast angry with me, thine 

anger is turned away, and thou comfort- 
edst me. 
I will pray the Father, and he shall give you 

another Comforter, &c. 
I wUl not leave you comfortless, I will come 

to you. 
I wUl lead him also, and restore comforts to 

him and to his mourners. 
Blessed are they that do his commandments, 

that they may have right to the tree of 

life. &c. 
If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide 

in my love. 
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy 

thoughts shall be established. 
He will turn again, he will have compassion 

upon us, &c. 
There is therefore now no condemna- 
tion, &c. 
If thou Shalt confess with thy mouth the 

Lord Jesus Christ thou shalt be saved. 
Whosoever shall confess me before men, him 

will I confess, <tc. 
Whosoever confesseth and forsaketh his sins 

shall have mercy. 
A broken and a contrite heart, God, thou 

wilt not despise. 
Thus .saith the High and LoftyOne, &c., even 

with him that is of a humble and contrite 

spirit, &c. 
To this man will I look, even to him that 

is poor and of a contrite spirit. 
To him that ordereth his conversation aright 

will I show the salvation of God. 
And I will make an everlasting covenant ^ith 

you, (fee. 
My covenant will I not break. &c. 
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, 

ye shall receive a cmron. <tc. 
Be thou fairhful unto death, and I will give 

thee a crown of life. 
In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a 

crown of glory. &c. 
He also will hear their cry, and will save 

them. 
He will be very gracious unto thee at the 

voice of thy cry. 
His ears are open unto their cry. 
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, i-c. 
Thou shalt cry, and he shall say. Here I am. 
Whosoever shall give to drink' unto one of 

these little ones a cujj of cold water, &.c. 
Who is among you that feareth the Lord, 

&c., that walketh in darkness, &c. 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, 

&c. 



KEY TO THE PROMISES, 



281 



John xi. 25. 


Dead. 


Isa. xxvi. 19. 




Rev. XX. 6. 


Death. 


Isa. XXV. 8. 
John viii. 51. 




Ps. cxvi. 15. 




— xxxvii. 4. 


Delight. 


— xci. 14. 


Deliver. 


Job V. 19. 
2 Pet. ii. 9. 




Jer. xxxii. 40. 


Depart. 


Prov. xiv. 22. 


Devise. 


Hos. xiv. 5. 
John vii. 17. 


Dew. 

Do his will. 


Ps. xlix. 14. 


Dominion. 


Isa. xxxiii. 16. 


Dwell. 


Rev. vii. 15. 




John xiv. 17. 
Ps.xxv.13. 
Matt. X. 22. 
John X. 28. 


Dwelleth. 
Ease. 

Endureth. 
Eternal life. 


Ps. xxxiii. 18. 


Eyes of the Lord 


— xxxiv. 15. 




2 Chron. xvi. 9. 




Heb. X. 23. 
Ps. Ixviii. 5. 


Faithful. 
Father. 


2 Cor. vi. 18. 
Ps. ciii. 13. 




— cxv. 13. 


Fear. 


Mai. iv. 2. 




Eccl. viii. 12. 
Prov. xiv. 26. 


Fear God. 

Fear of the Lord 


— xix. 23. 
jTsa. xli.lO. 




Fear — not. 



I am the resurrection and the life, saith the 
Lord : he that believeth in me, though he 
were dead yet shall he live. 
Thy dead men shall live, together with my 

dead body shall they arise, &c. 
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
first resurrection; over such the second 
dr/illt h;it!i no power. 
He will swallow up death in victor}'. 
If a man keep my saying he shall never see 

death. 
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death 

of his saints. 
Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall 

give thee the desire of thy heart. 
Because he hath set his love upon me, there- 
fore will I deliver him. 
He shall deliver thee in six troubles. 
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly 

out of temptations. 
I will put my fear in their hearts, that they 

shall not depart from me. 
Mercy and truth shall be to them that c?ei;ise 

good. 
I will be as the dew unto Israel. 
If any man will do his ivill, he shall know of 

the doctrine whether it be of God, &c. 
The upright shall have dominion over them 

in the morning. 
He shall dwell on high ; his place of defence 

shall be the munition of rocks. 
Therefore are they before the throne of God, 

&c. ; and he that sitteth on the throne shall 

dwell among them. 
He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 
His soul shall dwell at ease. 
He that endureth to the end shall be saved. 
And I give unto them eternal life, and they 

shall never perish, &c. 
Behold, the eyes of the Lmd are upon them 

that fear him, &c. 
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, 

and his ears are open unto their cry. 
The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through- 
out tbe whole earth, &c. 
He isfaithftd that promised. 
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the 

widows, is God in his holy habitation. 
I will be a. father unto you, &c. 
Like as a, father, pitieth his children, so the 

Lord pitieth, &c. 
He will bless them that /ear the Lord, both 

small and great. 
Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun 

of Righteousness, &c. 
It shall be well with tbem that fear God. 
In the fear of the Lord is strong ooufidcnce, 

&c. 
The fear -of the Lord tendeth to life, and he 

that hath it shall be satisfied. 
Fear thou not, for I am with thee, &c. 



24* 



I 282 



KEY TO THE PROMISES. 



Ps. cxxviii. 1. 
Prov. xiii. 13. 


Fearetli. 


Zech.xii. 8. 
Rev. vii. 17. 


Feeble. 
Feed. 


Ezek. xxxiv. 15. 


Feed. 


Ps. xcii. 13. 


Flourish. 


Ipa. xlix. 15. 
2 Chron. vii. 14. 


Forget. 
Forgive. 


Ps. ciii. 3. 
Deut. xxxi. 8. 
lleb. xiii. 5. 
Isa. xli. 16. 


Forgiveth. 
Forsake. 




Zech. xiii. 1. 


Fountain opened. 


Ps. xcii. 14. 
3Iatt. vii. 11. 


Fruit. 
Gifts. 


Luke vi. 38. 
Matt. xiii. 12. 
Ps. Ixiv. 10. 
- Ixxxiv. 11. 
Col.iu.4. 


Give. 
Given. 
Glad, 
Glory. 


lleb. X. 10. 


God. 


Jer. xxxi. 1. 




Pvev. xxi. 3. 




neb. xi. 16. 
Ezek. xxxiv. 24. 
2 Cor. vi. 16. 
Isa. xli. 10. 
Joel ii. 27. 






1 Tim. iv. 8. 


Godliness. 


2 Cor. xii. 9. 
Joel ii. 13. 


Grace. 
Gracious. 


Isa. XXX. 18. 




2 Chron. xxx. 9. 




Hos. xiii. 24. 


Grave. 


— xiv. 5. 
Ps. xcii. 12. 
Mai. iv. 2. 


Grow. 




Isa. Ivii. 11. 
Ps. xlviii. 4. 
Ezek. xxxvi. 26. 


Guide. 
Heart. 


Jer. xxxiv. 7. 





Blessed is every one th^tfcaretJi. the T/ord. &c.. 
Ue that feareth the commandment shall be 

rewarded. 
He that is feeble shall be as David, <S:c. 
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the 

throne shall feed them, &c. 
I will feed my flock, and I will cause thera 

to lie down, &c. 
Those that be planted in the house of the 

Lord shall flourish, &c. 
Can a woman forget her sucking child, &c. 
Then will I hear from heaven, and will/&?- 

give their sin. 
Tie forgiveth all thine iniquities. 
He will not fail thee, neither /or saAe thee. 
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. 
These things will I do unto them, and will 

not for sale them. 
In that day there shal I be a fountain opened, 

Ac. 
They shall bring forth fruit in old age. 
If ye then, being evil, know how to give 

good gifts unto your children, how much 

more shall your Father, &c. 
Give, and it shall be given unto you, &c. 
Whosoever hath, to him shall he given. 
The righteous shall be glad in the Lord. 
The Lord will give grace and glory, &c. 
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, 

then shall ye also appearwith him in glory. 
I will be to them a God, and they shall be to 

me a people. 
At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be 

the God of all the families of Israel. 
God himself shall be with them, and be their 

God. 
God is not ashamed to be called their God. 
I the Lord will be their God. 
Iwill be their (?oc?,andtheyshall bemypeople 
Be not dismayed, I am thy God. 
And ye shall know that I am the Lord your 

God. 
Godliness is profitable unto all things ; hav- 
ing promise of the life. &c. 
My grace is sufficient for thee. &c. 
For he is gracious and merciful, slow to an- 
ger, and of great kindness. 
Therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be 

gracious unto you. '_■[ , 

The Lord your God is gracious and ttier- 

ciful. 
I will ransom them from the power of the 

grave. 
He shall groiv as the lily. 
He shall grow like the cedar of Lebanon. 
And ye shall go forth and grow as calves of 

the stall. 
And the Lord shall guide thee continually. 
He will be our guide, even unto death. 
A new heart also will I give you, &c. 
And I will give them a /jeart to know me, Ac. 



KEY TO THE PROMISES. 



283 



Jer. xxxiv. 39. 


Heart. 


Ezek. xi. 19. 




Matt. xi. 28. 


Heavy-laden 


Isa. xli. 13. 
1 Sam. ii. 30. 
Ps. ix. 12. 
Job xxii. 29. 
Matt, xxiii. 12. 
Luke xviii. 14. 
Matt. V. 6. 


Help. 

Honour. 

Humble. 


Hunger. 


John vi. 35. 
Lsa. liv. 5. 
MaL iii. 17. 


Husband. 
Jewels. 


Isa. Tii. 3. 


Joy. 


Ps. cxxi. 5. 

3. 

Isa. liv. 10. 
Luke xii. 32. 


Keeper. 
Kcepeth. 
Kindness. 
Kingdom. 


James ii. 5. 




John viii. 32. 


Know. 


Ps. Ixxxix. 15. 




Isa. Iii. 6. 
Jer. xxxi. 33. 




Law. 


Heb. xiii. 5. 
John X. 28. 
Matt. xix. 29. 

John vi. 47. 
Matt. X. 39. 
— XXV. 46. 


Leave. 
Life. 








1 John ii. 25. 
Ps. xcvii. 11. 




Light. 


— Ixxxix. 15. 




Neh. 1. 5. 
Prov. Tiii. 17. 


Love. 


John xiv. 21. 




23. 

Prov. Tui. 21. 






Ps. cxlv. 20. 





And I will give them one heaH and one way, 
&c. 

And I will give them one heart, and will 
put, Ac. 

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are 
lieavy laden, &c. 

Fear not, I will help thee. 

Them that honour me, I will honour. 

He forgetteth not the cry of the Jiumble. 

lie shall save the humble person. 

He that shall humble himself shall be ex- 
alted. 

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst 
after righteousness. 

He that cometh unto me shall never hunger. 

For thy Maker is thine hitshand. 

.\nd they shall be mine in that day when I 
make up my jeicels. 

With joy shall ye draw water out of the 
wells of salvation. 

The Lord is thy keeper. 

Ho that l-eepeth thee Avill not slumber. 

My kindness shall never depart from thee. 

It is your Father's good pleasure to give 
you the kingdom. 

The kingdom which he hath promised to 
them that love him. 

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth 
shall make you free. 

Blessed are the people that know the joyful 
sound. 

My people shall know my name. 

I will put my laiu into their inward parts, 
and write it in their hearts, &c. 

I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, 

And I give unto them eternal life, &c. 

Every one that hath forsaken houses, &c., 
for my name's sake— shall inherit ever- 
lasting life. 

He that believeth on me, hath everlasting 
life. 

He that loseth his life for my sake shall 
find it. 

The righteous shall go away into life eter- 
nal. 

This is the promise which he hath promised 
us, even eternal life. 

Light is sown for the righteous. 

They shall walk, Lord, in the light of thy 
countenance. 

God keepeth covenant and mercy for them 
that love him. 

I love them that love me. 

I will love him, and will manifest myself to 
him. 

If a man love me, he will keep my words, 
and my Father will love him, &c. 

That I may cause them that love me to in- 
herit substance, &c. 

The Lord preserveth all them that love 
him. I 



284 


KEY TO THE PROMISES. 1 


John xiv. 21. 


Loveth. 


He that Icveth me shall be loved of my Fa- 
ther. 


2. 


Mansions. 


In my Father's house are many mamions, 
— I go to prepare a place for you. 


Deut. iv. 31. 


?>Ierciful. 


For the Lord thy God is merciful, he will 
not forsake thee, &c. 


neb. xi. 12. 




I will be m-erdful to their unrighteousness. 


Ps. XXV. 10. 


Mercy. 


All the paths of the Lord are mercy and 
truth unto such as keep his covenant, 
&c. 

Let the wicked forsake bis ways, &c., and 


Isa. Iv. 7. 








he will have mercy upon him. 


Ps. ciii. 17. 




The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting 
to everlasting upon them that fear him. 


Isa. XXX. 18 




Therefore will he be exalted, that he may 
have mercy upon you, <S:c. 


ReT. iii. 12. 


Name. 


And I will write upon him the name of my 
God. 


5. 




I will not blot out his name out of the book 
of life, but I will confess his naine before 
my Father. &c. 


Phil. iT. 19. 


Need. 


My God shall supply all your need. 


Rev. xxii. 5. 


Night. 


There shall be no night there. 


Ezek. xxxYi. 26. 


New heart. 


A neiv heart will I give you. 


Isa. i. 19. 


Obedient. 


If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the 
good of the land. 


Jer.vii. 23. 


Obey. 


Ohey my voice, and I will be your God. 


Isa. xlvi. 4. 


Old age. 


And even to your old age I am he. 


Ps. Ixxxi. 10. 


Open thy mouth. 


Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. 


Rev. xxi. 7. 


Overcometh. 


He that overcometh shall inherit all things. 


- ii. 11. 




He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the 
second death 




i4? ^ 




He that overcometh, the same shall be 
clothed in M-hite raiment. 


UI. O. 




12. 




Him that overcometh will I make a pillar 
in the temple of my God, &c. 


— ii. 17. 




To him that overcometh will I give to eat of 
the hidden manna. 


7. 




To him that overcometh will I give to eat of 
the tree of life. 


— iii. 22. 




To him that overcometh will I grant to sit 
with me in my throne. 


Isa. Iv. 7. 


Pardon. 


He will abundan tly pardon. 


Jer. xxxiii 8. 




1 will pardon all their inicLuities whereby 
they have sinned. 


Ps. Ixxxv. 8. 


Peace. 


He will speak peace to his people and to his 
saints. 


Isa. Ivii. 2. 




He shall enter into peace. 


2 Cor. xiu. 11. 




Live in peace, and the God of love and peace 
shall be with you. 


John xiv. 27. 




Peace I leave with you, my peace I give 
unto you. 


Ps. cxxv. 5. 
— xxix. 11. 




Peace shall be upon Israel. 

The Lord will bless his people with peace. 




Phil. iv. 7. 




The peace of God, which passeth all under- 
standing, shall keep your hearts. 


Jer. XXX. 22. 


People. 


Ye shall be my people, and I will be your 

God. 
They shall never perish. 


John X. 28. 


Perish. 


Matt. V. 11. 

1 


Persecute. 


Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, 
&nd persecute you. 



KEY TO THE PROMISES. 



285 



Matt. V. 10. 


Persecuted. 


Prov. xxviii. 27. 
— xix. 17. 


Poor. 


Luke xiv. 13. 




Matt. V. 3. 


Poor in spirit. 


— xxi.22. 


Prayer. 


Prov. XV. 29. 
James iv. 16. 




Prayer. 


Ps. cxxxii. 16. 
Ex. xxxiii. 14. 
Acts ii. 39. 
Heb. X. 23. 
2 Cor. i. 20. 


Priests. 

Presence. 

Promise. 

Promised. 

Promises. 


John vi. 40, 54. 
Ps. cxlvi. 8. 

— cxxx. 8. 

— xlTi. 1. 


Raise. 
Raiseth. 
Redeem. 
Refuge. 


Deut. xxxiii. 27. 
Ps. ix. 9. 




— Ixxxix. 16. 
Luke vi. 22. 


Rejoice. 
Reproach, 


Ps. xvi. 9. 
Isa. iii. 10. 


Rest. 
Righteous. 


Ps. v. 12. 
Isa. Iviii. 11. 
Ps. cvi. 3. 


Righteousness 


— xxxvii. 6. 




Isa. xli. 18. 
Ps. cxxv. 2. 


Rivers. 
Round about. 


Isa. Ivi. 2. 


Sabbath. 


- Ivii.l3.1i. 





Ezek. XX. 20. 




Jer. iii. 15. 
Ps. xxvi. 8. 

Matt. i. 21. 
Zeph. iii. 17. 


Satisfied. 


Save. 


Isa. i. 18. 


Scarlet. 


Ps. XXV. 14. 


Secret. 



Blessed are they which are persecuted for 

righteousness' sake, &c. 
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack. 
He that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto 

the Lord, and that which he hath given 

will he pay him again. 
When thou makest a feast call the ^''^or, &c., 

and thou shalt be blessed, &c. 
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is 

the kingdom of heaven. 
And whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, be- 
lieving, ye shall receive. 
He heareth the prayer of the righteous. 
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous 

man availeth much. 
I will clothe hnv priests with salvation. 
Mj presence shall go with thee, &c. 
The promise is to you and to your children. 
He is faithful that promised. 
All ihe promises of God in him [Christ] are 

yea, and in him amen, &c. 
I will raise him up at the last day. 
The Lord raiseth them that be bowed down. 
He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquity. 
God is our refuge and strength, a very pre- 
sent help in trouble. 
The eternal God is thy refuge. 
The Lord tvill be a refuge for the oppressed, 

a refuge in times of trouble. 
In thy name shall they rejoice all the day. 
Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, 

&c., and shall reproach you, &c. 
My flesh also shall re^t in hope. 
Say ye to the righteous, it shall be well with 

him. 
Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous, &c. 
Verily there is a reward for the righteous. 
Blessed are they that keep judgment, and 

he that doeth righteousness at all times. 
He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the 

light. 
I will open rivers in high places, <S:c. 
As the mountains are roMwdatowi Jerusalem, 

so the Lord is round about his people. 
Blessed is the man that keepeth the sabbath 

from polluting it. 
If thou turn away thy foot from the sab- 
bath, from doing thy pleasure, &c., then 

thou shalt delight thyself in the Lord. 
Hallow my sabbaths . . . that ye may know 

that I am the Lord your God. 
My people shall he satisfied y^'ith mygoodness. 
They shall be satisfied with the fatness of 

thine house. 
He shall save his people from their sins. 
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is 

mighty, he will save, &c. 
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 

be as white as snow. 
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear 

him, &c. 



286 


KEY TO THE PROMISES. 


Gen. xvii. 7, 


Seed. 


I will establish my covenant between me 
and thee, and thy seed after thee. 


Isa. xliv. 3. 




I will pour my spirit upon thy seed. 




2 Cliron. xv. 2. 


Seek. 


If ye seek him he -will be found of you. 


Matt. Ti. 33. 




Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 
righteousness, and all these things shall 
be added unto you. 


Amos ix. 34. 




Se.ek ye me and ye shall live. 


Ezra viii. 22. 




The hand of our God is upon, all them for 
good that seek him. 


Ps. Ixix. 32. 




Your hearts shall live that seek God. 


T-am. iii. 25. 


Seeketh. 


The Lord is good unto them that wait for 
him, unto the soul that seeketh him. 


John xii. 26, 


Serve. 


If any man serve me, let him follow me ; and 
where I am, there shall also my servant 
he. 

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the 


Ps. xci. 1. 


Shadow. 






IMost High shall abide under the shadow 






of the Almighty. 


Isa. xl. 11. 


Shepherd. 


He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. 


Ezek. xxxiv. 23. 




The Lord will set up one Shepherd over 
them, and he shall feed them. 


Gen. XV. 1. 


Shield. 


I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great 
reward. 


Matt. xiii. 43. 


Shine. 


The righlcous shall shine forth as the sun, 

&c. 
They that he wise shall shine as the bright- 


Dan. xii. 3. 








ness of the firmament, ta. 


Rom. vi. 14. 


Sin. 


Sin shall not have dominion over you. 


Matt. i. 21 


Sins. 


He shall save his people from their sins. 


Isa. i. 18. 




Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 








be as white as snow. 


— xxxii. 20 


Sow. 


Blessed are ye that soio beside all waters. 


Ps. cxxvi. 5. 




They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 


GaLvi. 8. 


Soweth. 


He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the 
Spirit reap life everlasting. 


2 Cor. ix. 6. 




He which soweth bountifully shall reap also 
bountifully. 


ProT. 1. 23. 


Spirit. 


Behold I will pour out my Spirit unto 

you. 
I will put my Spirit within you, and cause 


Ezek. xxxvi. 27. 










you to walk in my statutes, &c. 


Isa. lix. 21. 




My Sjnrit that is upon thee, and my words 
which I have put in thy mouth, shall 
not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of 
the mouth of thy seed, &c. 


Zech. xii. 10. 


Spirit of grace. 


I will pour upon the house of David, and 
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the 
spirit of grace and of supplications. 


Ezek. xxxTi. 25. 


Sprinkle. 


Then will I spri7ikle clean water upon you, 
and ye shall be clean. 


27. 


Statutes. 


And I will put my Spirit within you, and 
cause you to walk in my statutes, &c. 


Ps. xxxvii. 21. 


Steps. 


The law of his God is in his heart, and none 
of his si-eps shall slide. 


23. 




The steps of a good man are ordered by the 

Lord. 


2 Cor. xii. 9. 


Strength. 


My grace is sufficient for thee, and my 
strength is made perfect in weakness. 


Ps. xix. 11. 




The Lord will give strength unto his people. 


— Ixxxiv. 7. 




They go from strength to strength. 



KEY TO THE PROMISES. 287 


Ps. xxxi. 24. 


Strengthen. 


Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen 
thine heart. 


Isa. xli. 10. 




I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee. 








yea, I will uphold thee. 


Zech. X. 12. 




I will strengthen them in the Lord. 




Isa. xxxT. 4. 


Strong. 


Say to them that are of a fearful heart. Be 
strong, fear not. 


Nahum i. 7. 


Strong hold. 


The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day 
of trouble. 


Heb. ii. 18. 


Succour. 


He is able to succour them that are tempted. 


Ps. Ixxxiv. 11. 


Sun. 


The Lord God is a sun and shield. 


Matt. xiii. 43. 
Mai. iv. 2. 




The righteous shall shine forth as the sun. 
But unto you that fear my name shall the 


Sun of righteous- 




ness. 


Sun of Righteousness arise, &c. 


Rev. iii. 20. 


Sup. 


If any man hear my voice, and open the 
door, I will come in to him, and will sup 
with him, and he with me. 


Isa.liv.l3 


Taught. 


All thy children shall be taught of the Lord. 


Ps. XXY. 8. 


Teach. 


Good and upright is the Lord, therefore will 
he teach sinners in the way. 


— xxxii. 8. 




I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the 
way which thou shalt go. 


— XXV. 12. 




What man is he that feareth the Lord ? him 
shall he teach in the way he shall choose. 


Isa. XXV. 8. 


Tears. 


The Lord God will wipe away tears from off 
all faces. 


James i. 12. 


Temptation. 


Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, 
for when he is tried he shall receive a 
crown of life, &c. 


1 Cor. X. 13. 


Tempted. 


God is ftuthful, and will not suffer you to be 
tempted above that ye arc able. 


Ps. cxix. 2. 


Testimonies. 


Blessed are they that keep his testimonies. 


Matt. vi. 31, 32. 


Thought. 


Therefore take no thought, &c., for your Hea- 
venly Father knoweth that ye have need, 
&c. 

No weapon thSt is formed against thee shall 


Isa. liv. 17. 


Tongue. 






prosper, and every tongue. &c. 


Ps. 1. 15. 


Trouble. 


Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will 
deliver thee. 


— xl. 4. 


Trust, 


Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his 
trust, and respecteth not the proud, &c. 


— xviii. 30. 




He is a buckler to all those that trust in 
him. 

None of them that trust in him shall be deso- 
late. 

They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount 




— xxxiv. 22. 






— cxxv. 1. 








Zion, &c. 


— xxxvii.3. 




Trust in the Lord and do good, &c.,and verily 
thou shalt be fed. 


Prov. xxix. 25. 




Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall 
be safe. 


Ps. xxxii. 10. 


Trusteth. 


He that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall 
compass him about. 


Isa. xxvi. 3. 




Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, &c., be- 
cause he trusteth in thee. 


Prov. xvi. 3. 




Whoso trusteth in the Lord happy is he. 


Ps. cxii. 7. 


Trusting. 


He shall not be afraid of evil tidings, his 
heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 


John xvi 13. 


Truth. 


He shall guide you into all truth. 


Zech. xiii. 9. 


Try. 


I will bring the third part through the fire, 
&c., and will try them as gold, Ac. 











288 THREATENINGS AND WARNINGS. 


Ezek. xviii. 21. 


Tarn. 


If the wicked will turn from all his sins . . 
he will surely live, &c. 


Zech. i. 3. 
Matt, xviii. 20. 




Turn ye unto me, <i-c.,and I will turn unto 

you. 
Where two or three are gathered together in 


Two or three 






my name, there am I in the midst of them. 


Ps. xxxvii. 18. 


Upright. 


The Lord knoweth the days of the upnght, 
and their inheritance shall be for ever. 


Prov. xxviii. 18. 


Uprightly. 


Whoso walketh uprigldbj shall be saved. 


Isa. XXX. 18. 


Wait. 


Blessed are all they that wait for him. 


— xl. 31. 




They that wait upon the Lord shall renew 
their strength. 


Ps. xxvii. 14. 




Wait upon the Lord, he of good courage, and 
he shall strengthen thine heart, &c. 


Lev. xxvi. 12. 


Walk. 


And I will walk among you, and will be your 

God. 
And they shall walk with me in white, for 


Rev. ill. 4. 








they are worthy. 


Ps. i. 1. 


Walketh. 


Blessed is the man that walketh not in the 
counsel of the ungodly. 


Ps. xxxiv. 9. 


Want. 


There is no want to them that fear him. 


Prov. viii. 34. 


Watching. 


Blessed is the man that heareth me, watch- 
ing daily at my gates. 


Isa. xii. 3. 


Water. 


With joy shall ye draw water from the wells 
of salvation. 


Jer. xxxi. 12. 


Watered. 


Their souls shall be like a watered garden. 


Isa. xliii. 2. 


Waters. 


When thou passest through the waters I 
will be with thee, &c. 


Job xvii. 9. 


Way. 


The righteous also shall hold on his way.&c. 


Jer. xxvi. 13. 


AVays. 


Amend your ways, &c., and the Lord will 
repent him, &c. 


Prov. iii. 6. 




In all thy wai/s acknowledge him, and he 
shall direct thy paths. 


Ps. cxxvi. 6. 


Weepeth. 


He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing 
precious seed, shall doubtless come again 
with rejoicing, &c. 


John vii. 17. 


WiU. 


If any man shall do his will he shall know 
of the doctrine, &c. 


Ps. ex. 3. 


Willing. 


Thy people shall be loilUng in the day of thy 
power. 


Prov. xiii. 20. 


Wise. 


He that walketh with wise men shall be wise. 


— iii. 35. 




The wise shall inherit glory. 


Dan. xii. 3. 






They that be wise shall shine as the bright- 








ness of the firmament. 


Ps. cvii. 43. 




Whoso is wi'^eand will observe these things, 
even they shall understand the loving- 








kindness of the Lord. 


CljrBatBninp uni tBnrEingH. 


Luke ix. 62. i 


\.postates. 


No man having put his hand to the plough, and 
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. 


John XV. 6. 




If any man abide not in me, he is cast forth as 
a branch, and is withered. 


Heb. iii. 12. 




Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of 
you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing 






from the living God. 



THREATENINGS AND WARNINGS. 289 



Ileb. X. 26. 


Apostates. 


- 38. 




— xii. 15 




2 Pet. ii. 20 




Psa. csxT. 5. 


Backsliders. 


1 Cor. X. 12. 




Col. ii. 8. 






Matt. xii. 31. 
Mark iii. 28. 


Blasphemers. 



Jude 14, 15. 



Luke xii. 15. 
Eph. V. 5. 



Col. iii. 5, 6. 



James v. 3. 



2 Thess. i. 7. 8. 



Ileb. ii. 2, 3. 



— xii. 25. 



1 Pet. iv. 17. 



Covetous. 



Disobedient. 



For if we sin wilfully, after that we hare re 
ceived the knowledge of the truth, there re- 
maineth no more sacrifice for sins. 
If any man draw back, my soul shall have no 

pleasure in him. 
Look diligently, lest any man fail of the grace 

of God. 
For if after they have escaped the pollutions 
of the world through the knowledge of the 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,they are again 
entangled therein and overcome, the latter 
end is worse with them than the begin- 
ning. 
For such as turn aside unto their crooked 
ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with 
the workers of iniquity. 
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth 

take heed lest he fall. 
Beware lest any man spoil you through phi- 
losophy and vain deceit. 
The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall 

not be forgiven. 
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of 
his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and 
to convince all that are ungodly among them 
of all their ungodly deeds which they have 
ungodly committed, and of all their hard 
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken 
against him. 
Take heed, and beware of covetousness. 
For this know, that no whoremongers, &c., nor 
covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any 
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of 
God. 
Mortify therefore your members which are 
upon the earth ; fornication, &c., and covet- 
ousness, which is idolatry : for which things' 
sake the wrath of God cometh on the chil- 
dren of disobedience. 
Your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust 
of them shall be a Avitness against you, and 
shall eat your flesh as it were fire ; ye have 
heaped treasure together for the last days. 
The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven 
with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, tak- 
ing vengeance on them that know not God, 
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 
For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, 
and every transgression and disobedience re- 
ceived a just recompense of reward, how shall 
we escape, if we neglect so great salvation ? 
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For 
if they escaped not who refused him that 
spake on earth, much more shall not we 
escape, if we turn away from him that speak- 
eth from heaven. 
For the time is come that judgment must bc^ 
gin at the house of God : and if it first begin 
at us, what shall the end be of those that 
obey not the gospel of God ? 



25 



290 THEEATENINGS AND WARNINGS. 

Deut. xxT.13-16. Dishonest. Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, 

a great and a small, &c. ; for all that do such 
things, and all that do tmrighteously, are 
an atDomination unto the Lord thy God. 

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord. 

Divers weights are an abomination unto the 
Lord. 
Drunkards. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, 

Avhen it giveth its color in the cup, when it 
moveth itself aright. At the last, it biteth 
like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 

Nordrunkards shall inherit the kingdom of God 

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which 
are these : adultery, &c., drunkenness, revel- 
lings, and such like : of the which I tell you 
before, as I have also told you in times past, 
that they which do such things, shall not in- 
herit the kingdom of God. 
Extortioners. Nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of 

God. 
False Teachers. If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into 
the ditch. 

If any man preach any other gospel unto you 
than that ye have received, let him be ac- 
cursed. 

He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he 
hath both the Father, and the Son. If there 
come any unto you, and bring not this doc- 
trine, receive him not into your house, 
neither bid him God speed. 
Hearers, To the law and to the testimony : if they speak 

not according to this word, it is because there 
is no light in them. 

Take heed what ye hear. 

Take heed, therefore, how ye hear. 

Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, 
deceiving your ownselves. 
Hypocrites. The hypocrite's hope shall perish. 

The hypocrites in heart, heap up wrath. 
Idolaters. Confounded be all they that serve graven im- 

ages, that boast themselves of idols. 

Flee from idolatry. 

Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 
Impenitent. Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 

Despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and 
forbearance.and long-suffering ; not knowing 
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to re- 
pentance ? But after thy hardness and im- 
penitent heart treasurest up unto thyself 
wrath against the day of wrath and revela- 
tion of the righteous judgment of God. 

Remember, therefore, from whence thou art 
fallen, and repent, and do the first works : or 
else I will come unto thee quickly, and will 
remove the candlestick out of his place, ex- 
cept thou repent. 
Liars. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and 

he that speaketh lies shall perish. 

All liars shall have their part in the lake which 
burneth with fire and brimstone, which is 
the second 



Prov. xi. 1. 

— XX. 23. 

— xxiii.31,32. 



1 Cor. vi. 10. 
Gal. V. 20, 21. 



1 Cor. Ti. 10. 
Matt. XV. 14. 
Gal. i. 9. 

2 John 9, 10. 
Isaiah viii. 20. 



Mark iv. 24. 
Luke viii. 18. 
James i. 22. 

Job viii. 13. 
— xxxvi. 13. 
Psa. xcvii. 7. 

1 Cor. X. 14. 
1 John V. 21. 
Luke xiii. 3. 
Rom. ii. 4, 5. 



Rev. ii. 5. 



Prov. xix. 
Rev. xxi. { 



THEEATENINGS AND AYARNINGS. 291 



Rev. xxi. 27. Liars. 



Psa. Ixviii. 5. 
— ciii. 6. 
Mai. iii. 5. 



James v. 4, 



Matt. vi. 1 



Oppressors. 



Ostentatious. 



Professors. 



Psa. vii. 13. Persecutors. 

2 Tliess. i 6. 
Matt. iii. 10. 
— vii. 19, 22, 23. 



Luke xiii. 26, 27 



John XV. 6. 



Prov. vi. 17. 
— xvi. 5. 



James iv. 6. 
1 Pet. V. 5. 
Prov. i. 24. 



— xix. 29. 
Exod. XX. 7. 
Deut. V. 11. 



Proud. 



Scorners. 



And there shall in nowise enter into it any- 
thing that dcfileth, neither whatsoever work- 
eth abomination, or maketh a lio : but they 
which are written in the Lamb's book of 
life. 
A Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the 

widows, is God in his holy habitation. 
The Lord executeth righteousness and judg- 
ment for all that are oppressed. 
And I will come near you to judgment ; and I 
will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, 
&c., and against those that oppress the hire- 
ling in his wages, the widow and the father- 
less, and that turn aside the stranger from 
his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord 
of hosts. 
Behold, the hire of the laborers who have 
reaped down your fields, which is of you 
kept back by fraud, crieth : and the cries of 
them which have reaped are entered into 
the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 
Take heed that ye do not your alms before 
men, to be seen of them : otherwise ye have 
no reward of your Father which is in 
heaven. 
He ordaineth his arrows against the persecu- 
tors. 
It is a righteous thing with God to recompense 

tribulation to them that trouble you. 
Every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, 

is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 
Many will say to me in that day. Lord, Lord, 
have we not prophesied in thy name, and in 
thy name cast out devils, and in thy name 
done many wonderful works ? and then will 
I profess unto them, I never knew you : de- 
part from me ye that work iniquity. 
Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and 
drunk in thy presence, &c. : but he shall say, 
I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; 
depart from me all ye workers of inquity. 
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a 
branch, and is withered ; and men gather 
them, and cast them into the fire, and they 
are burned. 
The Lord hateth a proud look. 
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomi- 
nation to the Lord : though hand join in 
hand he shall not be unpunished. 
God resisteth the proud. 

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have 
stretched out myhand, and no man regarded; 
but ye have set at nought all my counsel, 
and would none of my reproof: I also will 
laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when 
your fear cometh. 

Judgments are prepared for scorners. 

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him 
guitless, that taketh his name in vain. 



292 THREATENINGS AND WARNINGS. 



Zech. V. 3. 
James, v. 12. 



1 Cor. vi. 10. 



Mark xvi. 16. 
John iii. 18. 



— viii. 24. 
2 Thess. ii. 12. 
Kev. xxi. 8. 

Matt. XXV. 42,&c 



1 John iii. 14. 
— 17. 

Eph. v. 5. 

Rev. xxii. 15. 
Job xxi. 30. 
Psalm i. 5. 

— vii. 11, 12. 



— ix. 17. 

— lxxiii.12,18, 



— xcii. 7. 



— cxlv. 20. 
Prov. xi. 5. 



fcwearers. 



Thieves. 
Unbelievers. 



Uncharitable. 



Unclean. 



Ungodly. 



For the sin of their mouth, and the words of 
their lips, let them even be taken in their 
pride ; and for cursing and lying which they 
speak. 

Every one that sweareth shall be cut off. 

Swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the 
earth, neither by any other oath: but let 
your yea, be yea, and your nay, nay ; lest ye 
fall into condemnation. 

Nor thieves, nor covetous, &c., shall inherit 
the kingdom of God. 

He that believeth not, shall be damned. 

He that believeth not, is condemned already, 
because he hath not believed in the name of 
the only begotten Son of God. 

He that believeth not the Son, shall not see 
life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him. 

If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in 
your sins. 

That all might be damned who believed not the 
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

But the fearful and unbelieving, &c., shall have 
their part in the lake that burneth with fire 
and brimstone : which is the second death. 

For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no 
meat, &c. — Inasmuch as ye did it not to one 
of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 
And these shall go away into everlasting 
punishment; but the righteous into life 
eternal. 

He that loveth not his brother abideth in 
death. 

Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his 
brother have need, and shutteth up his 
bowels of compassion from him, how dwell- 
eth the love of God in him ? 

No whoremonger, nor unclean person, hath 
any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ 
and of God. 

For without [the holy city] are dogs, and sorce- 
rers, and whoremongers, <tc. 

The wicked is reserved to the day of destruc- 
tion. 

The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, 
nor sinners in the congregation of the right- 
eous : For the Lord knoweth the way of the 
righteous ; but the way of the ungodly shall 
perish. 

God is angry with the wicked every day. If 
he turn not, he will whet his sword ; he hath 
bent his bow, and made it ready. 

The wicked shall be turned into hell. 

Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in 
the world ; they increase in riches. — Surely 
thou didst set them in slippery places; thou 
castedst them down to destruction. 

When the wicked spring as the grass, and when 
all the workers of iniquity do flourish ; it is 
that they shall be destroyed for ever. 

All the wicked will he destroy. 

The wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. 



BIBLE AIDS FOR PRAYER. 293 


Prov. xi. 7. 1 Ungodly. ,When a wicked man dieth, his expectation 






shall perish; and the hope of unjust men 






perisheth. 


21. 




The wicked shall not be unpunished. 

The wicked is driven away in his wickedness. 


— xiv. 32,' 




fMt aita far Intinl niii ^xmnh ^i^rnijer. 


" Take with you words, and turn to the Lord : say unto him, Take away 


all iniquity, and receive us graciously : so will we render the calves of our 


lips." Hosea xiv. 2 


"As to expression in prayer, we should treasure up such expressions es- 


pecially as we read in Scripture."— Buck. 


EXPRESSIONS FOR SOCIAL PRAYER. 




ADORATION. 




SUPPLICATION. 


Jer. X. 6, 7. 


Forasmuch as there is 


Psa. Ixvii. 1. 


God be merciful unto 




none like unto thee. 




us, and bless us; and 




Lord ; thou art 




cause his face to shine 




great, and thy name 




upon us. 




is great in might ; 


— Ixxxv. 7. 


Wilt thou not revive us 




who would not fear 




again, that thy people i 




thee, King of na- 




may rejoice in thee? ] 




tions ? 


8. 


Show us thy mercy, 


Psa. cxiv. 10. 


All thy works shall 




Lord, and grant us thy 




praise thee, Lord, and 




salvation. 




thy saints shall bless 








thee. They shall speak 




INTERCESSION. 




of the glory of thy 


— Ixvii. 3. 


Let the people praise 




kingdom, and talk of 




thee, God; let all 




thy power. 




the people praise thee. 


— Ixv. 2. 


thou that hearest 


— vii. 9. 


Oh let the wickedness 




prayer, unto thee shall 




of the wicked come to 




all flesh come. 




an end: but establish 
the just. 




CONFESSION. 






Dan. ix. 5. 


We have sinned, and 




THANKSGIVING. 




have committed ini- 


— evil. 15. 


Oh that men would 




quity, and have done 




praise the Lord for his 




wickedly, and have 




goodness, for his won- 




rebelled, even by de- 




derful works to the 




parting from thy pre- 




children of men ! 




cepts and from thy 


Psa. cviii. 4. 


For thy mercy is great 




judgments. 




above the heavens, 


1 John i. 8. 


If we say we have no 




and thy truth reacheth 




sin, we deceive our- 




unto the clouds. 




selves, and the truth 


- cxiii. 2. 


Blessed be the name of 




is not in us. 




the Lord from this 


Tsa. Ixiv. 6. 


We are all as an unclean 




time forth and for 




thing. 




evermore. 



25* 



294 



BIBLE AIDS FOR PRATEE 



Psa. cxiii. 3. 
5,6. 

2 Cor. ix. 15. 

1 Pet. i. 3, 4. 



, Psa. XTiii. 1. 



Ixii. 1. 

2. 



— li. 3. 



From the rising of the 
sun tinto the going 
down of the same, the 
Lord's name is to be 
praised. 

Who is like unto the 
Lord our God, who 
dwelleth on high, who 
humbleth himself to 
behold the things that 
are in heaven and in 
the earth ! 

Thanks be unto God for 
his unspeakable gift. 

In whom we hare re- 
demption through his 
blood, the forgiveness 
of sins according to 
the riches of his grace. 

Blessed be the God and 
Father of our Lord 
Jesiis Christ, which 
according to his abun. 
dant mercy hath be- 
gotten us again unto 
a lively hope by the 
resurrection of Jesus 
Christ from the dead, 
to an inheritance in- 
corruptible, and unde- 
iilcd, and that fadeth 
not away. 



Eph. i. 3. 

Isa. xxvi. 13. 

— Ixiii. 19. 

Phil. iv. 20. 
Rev. vii. 10. 

Rev. vii. 12. 



Blessed be the God and 
Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who 
hath blessed us with 
all spiritual blessings 
in Christ. 

DKDICATION. 

Lord our God, other 
lords besides thee have 
had dominion over us : 
but by thee only will 
we make mention of 
thy name. 

We are thine. 

DOXOLOGT. 

Now unto God and our 
Father bo glory for 
ever and ever. Amen. 

Salvation to our God 
which sitteth on the 
throne, and unto the 
Lamb. 

Blessing, and glory, and 
wisdom, and .thanks- 
giTing, and honour, 
and power, and might, 
be unto our God for 
ever and ever. Amen. 



EXPRESSIONS FOR PRIVATE PRAYER. 



ADORATION. 

I will love thee, Lord, 
my strength. 

The Lord is my rock, 
and my fortress, and 
my deliverer; my God, 
my strength, in whom 
I will trust; my buck- 
ler, and the horn of 
my salvation, and my 
high tower. 

Truly my soul waiteth 
upon God: from him 
cometh my salvation. 

He only ia my rock and 
my salvation; he is 
my defence, I shall 
not be greatly moved. 

CONFESSION. 

I acknowledge mytrans- 
gvession, and my sin 
is ever before me. 



Rom. vii. 18. 



24. 



Job. xi. 4. 



Luke xviii. 13. 
Psa. li. 10. 



For I know that in me, 
that is in my flesh, 
dwelleth no good 
thing : for to will is 
present with me ; hut 
how to perform that 
which is good I find 
not. 

wretched man that I 
am, who shall deliver 
me from the body of 
this death? 

Behold, I am vile ; what 
shall I answer thee? 
I will lay my hand 
upon my mouth. 

SUPPLICATION. 

God be merciful to me 
a sinner. 

Create in me a clean 
heart, God ; and re- 
new a right spirit 
within me. 



BIBLE AIDS FOR PRAYER. 295 


Psa. li. 1. 


Have mercy upon me, 


Ps. XXV. 4. 


Shew me thy ways, 




God, according to thy 




Lord; teach me thy 




loving kindness : ac- 




paths. 




cording vinto the mul- 


— — 5. 


Lead me in thy truth. 




titude of thy tender 




and teach me : for thou 




mercies, blot out my 




art the God of my sal- 




transgressions. 




vation; on thee do I 


— XXV. 11. 


For thy name's sake, 




wait all the day. 




Lord, pardon mine ini- 


— cxix. 18. 


Open thou mine eyes, 




quity, for it is great! 




that I may behold 


— li. 9. 


Hide thy tlice from my 




wondrous things out 




sins, and blot out all 




of thy law. 




mine iniquities. 


1 Chron. iv. 10. 


that thou wouldst 


— XXV. 7. 


Remembernot thesiusof 




bless me indeed, and 




myyouth, nor my trans- 




enlarge my coast, and 




gressions: according to 




tliat thine hand might 




thy mercy remember 




be with me, and that 




thou me for thy good- 




thou wouldst keep me 




ness' sake, Lord. 




from evil, that it may 


11. 


Cast me not away from 




not grieve me ! 




thy presence ; and 


Gen. xxxii. 26. 


I will not let thee go. 




take not thy holy spirit 




except thou bless me. 




from me. 


Prov. XXX. 8. 


Remove far from me 


12. 


Restore unto me the 




vanity and lies: give 




joy of thy salvation; 




me neither poverty 




and uphold me with 




nor riches; feed me 




thy free spirit. 




with food convenient 


15. 


Lord, open thou my 




for me. 




lips; and my mouth 


9. 


Lest I be full, and deny 




shall show forth thy 




thee, and say, Who is 




praise. 




the Lord? or lest I be 


17. 


The sacrifices of God 




poor, and steal, and 




are a broken spirit : a 




take the name of my 




broken and a contrite 




God in vain. 




heart, God, thou wilt 


Job. xvi. 22. 


When a few years are 




not despise. 




come, then I shall go 


- xvii. 7. 


Hold up my goings in 




the Avay whence I 




thy paths, that my 




shall not return. 




footsteps slip not. 


Ps. xxxix. 4. 


Lord, make me to know 


Psa. cxix. 149. 


Hear my voice accord- 




mine end, and the 




ing unto thy loving 




measure of my days, 




kindness : Lord 




what it is ; that I may 




quicken me according 




know how frail I am. 




to thy judgment. 






175. 


Let my soul live, and it 




INTERCESSION. 




shall praise thee; and 


Eph. vi. 24. 


Grace be with all them 




let thy judgments help 




that love our Lord 




me. 




Jesus Christ in sin- 


176. 


I have gone astray like 




cerit)-. 




a lost sheep ; seek thy 


Ps. cxxv. 4. 


Do good, Lord, unto 




servant; for I do not 




those that be good, 




forget thy command- 




and to them that are 




ments. 




upright in their hearts. 


- cxxxix. 23. 


Search me, God, and 


Isa. Ixiv. 1. 


that thou wouldst 




know my heart: try 




rend the heavens, that 




me, and know my 




thou wouldst come 




thoughts : 




down, that the moun- 


24. 


And see if there be any 




tains might flow dovvn 




wicked way in me, and 




at thy presence. 




lead me in the way 


Ps. xliii. 3. 


send out thy light 




everlasting. 




and thy truth. 



296 



BIBLE AIDS FOR PRATER, 



Psa. Ivii. 11. 



Ixxii. 18, 



19. 



— xl. 1. 



cxxxix, 17 



Psa. cxxxix. 18 



— ciii. 1. 



Be thou exalted, God, 
above the heavens : 
let thy glory be above 
all the earth. 

Blessed be the Lord 
God, the God of Is- 
rael, "who only doeth 
wondrous things. 

And blessed be his glo- 
rious name for ever : 
and let the ■whole 
earth be filled -with 
his glory. Amen and 
Amen. 

THANKSGIVING. 

I waited patiently for 
the Lord ; and he in- 
clined unto me, and 
heard my cry. 

Many, Lord my God. 
are thy wonderful 
works which thou hast 
done. and thy thoughts 
which are to us-ward : 
they cannot be reckon- 
ed up in order unto 
thee : if I would de- 
clare and speak of 
them, they are more 
than can be numbered 

How precious also are 
thy thoughts unto i 
God ! how great is 
the sum of them ! 

If I should count them 
they are more in num- 
ber than the sand: 
when I awake, I am 
still with thee. 

Bless the Lord, my 
soul, and all that is 
within me, bless his 
holy name. 

Bless the Lord. my 
soul, and forget not 
all his benefits. 



cxvi. 12. 



cxlv. 10. 



Psa. cxlix. 4. 



cxvi. 16. 



1 Tim. i. 17. 



Rom. XV i. 27. 



Who forgiveth all thine 
iniquities,who healcth 
all thy diseases. 

Who redeemeth thy life 
from destruction : who 
crowneth thee with 
loving-kindness and 
tender mercies. 

What shall I render 
unto the Lord for all 
his benefits toward 
me? 

I will take the cup of 
salvation and call 
upon the name of the 
Lord. 

All thy works shall 
praise thee, O Lord, 
and thy saints shall 
bless thee. 

For the Lord taketh 
pleasure in his people, 
he will beautify the 
meek with salvation. 

DEDICATION. 

Lord, truly I am thy 
servant ; I am thy 
servant, and the son 
of thine handmaid : 
thou hast loosed my 
bonds. 

1 will walk before the 
Lord ia the land of 
the living. 

DOXOLOGT. 

Now unto the King 
eternal, immortal, in- 
visible, the only wise 
God, be honour and 
glory for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

To God, only wise, be 
glory, through Jesus 
Christ, for ever. Amen. 



(CDHiBHts Bf th foMt 



The number of books iu the Old Testament is 39, and in the New, 21 
66 books. 



total, 



The Old Testament has 929 chapters. 

New " 260 " 

Total 1189 

The Old Testament has 23,214 verses. 

New " 7,959 " 

Total 31,173 

The Old Testament has 592,439 words. 

New " 181,253 " 

Total 773,692 

The Old Testament has 2,728,110 letters. 

New " 838,380 " 

Total , 3,566,480 

The word Jehovah, or Lord, occurs in the Old Testament 6855 times. 

The middle chapter of the Bible, and shortest, is Psalm cxvii. The middle 
verse is Psalm cxviii. 8. The middle book of the Old Testament is Proverbs. 
The middle chapter, Job xxix. Middle verse, 2 Chrou. xx. 17. Least verse, 
1 Chron. 1. 25. Middle book of the New Testament is 2 Thess. Middle verse, 
Acts. xvii. 17. Least verse, John xi. 35. Ezra vii. 21, has all the letters of the 
alphabet. 



(297) 



Jhvum ml €ii\n gintn tn SrstiH €\)ml 


1 Cor. XV. 45. 


Adam. 


iJohnx. 7. 


Door of sheep. 


1 John ii. 1. 


Advocate. 






Kev. iii. 14. 


Amen. 


Deut.xxxii.il. 


Eagle. 


Isa. Ixiii. 9. 


Angel. 


Isa. xlii. 1. 


Elect. 


Mai. iii. 1. 




Matt. i. 23. 


Emmanuel. 


Dan. vii. 22. 


Ancient of Days. 


Isa. xi. 10. 


Ensign. 


Ps. ii. 2, xlv. 7. 


Anointed. 


1 John V. 20. 


Eternal life. 


Heb. iii. 1. 


Apostle. 


Isa. ix. 6. 


Everlasting Father. 


Cant. ii. 3. 


Apple tree. 


Heb. i. 3. 


Express image, &c. 


neb. xii. 2. 


Author and Finisher 








of Faith. 


Rev. i. 5. 
- iii. 14. 


Faithful witness. 


Luke ii. 16. 


Babe. 


— xix.ll. 




Rev. iiL 14. 


Beginning of the Crea- 


Luke XV. 23. 


Fatted calf. 




tion of God. 


Isa. ix. 6. 


Father of eternity. 


John i. 14. 


Begotten of the Father. 


Isa. xl. 11. 


Feeder. 


Cant. i. 13; 


Beloved. 


11 OS. xiv. 8. 


Fir-tree. 


Eph. i. 6. 




Rev. i. 5. 


First-begotten. 


1 Pet. ii. 25. 


Bishop. 


1 Cor. XV. 23. 


First fruits. 


1 Tim. vi. 15. 


Blessed. 


Rev. ii. 8. 


First and last. 


Zech. iii. 8. 


Branch. 


.John i. 14. 


Flesh. 


John iii. 14. 


Brazen serpent. 


jlsa. xxviii. 16. 


Foundation. 


John vi. 48-51. 


Bread of life. 


IZech. xiii. 1. 


Fountain. 


Matt. ix. 15. 


Bridegroom. 


1 Heb. vi. 20. 


Forerunner. 


Kev. xxii. 16. 


Bright morning .«!tar. 


Matt. xi. 19. 


Friend of sinner. 


Heb. i. 3. 


Brightness of the Fa- 








thers glory. 


2 Cor. ix. 15. 


Gift of God. 


Cant. i. 13. 


Bundle of myrrh. 


Isa. xl. 5. 


Glory of God. 






Isa. xxxiii. 21. 


Glorious Lord 


Cant. i. 14. 


Camphire. 


John i. 1. 


God. 


Josh. V. 14. 


Captain. 


Hom. ix. 5. 




Heb. ii. 10. 




1 Tim. iii. 10. 




Isa. ix. 6. 


Child. 


1 John V. 20. 




Matt. xii. 18. 


Chosen. 


Cant. V. 11. 


Gold. 


Luke xxiii. 35. 




Rev. viii. 3. 


Golden altar. 


Matt. i. 16. 


Christ. 


Matt. ii. 6. 


Governor. 


— ii. 4. 




1 Pet. ii. 3. 


Gracious. 


Luke ii. 25. 


Consolation of Israel. 


Ps. xlviii. 14. 


Guide. 


Eph. ii. 20. 


Corner-stone. 






1 Pet. ii. 7. 




Ps. xci. 9. 


Habitation. 


Isa. xlii. 6. 


Covenant. 


Ileb. vii. 26. 


Harmless. 


Isa. is. 6. 


Counsellor. 


Col. i. 18. 


Head of the church. 


Isa. xxxii. 2. 


Covert. 


Heb. i. 2. 


Heir of all things. 


Isa. xliii. 15. 


Creation. 


Ps. xxxiii. 20. 


Help. 


Luke vii. 41. 


Creditor. 


— xl. 17. 




Isa. xlv. 1. 


Cyrus. 


Isa. Iviii. 14. 


Heritase. 






Ps. xviii. 13. 


Highest. 


Jer. XXX. 9. 


David. 


Luke i. 32. 




Ex. xxxvii. 24, 




Heb. iii. 1. 


High Priest. 


25. 




— vii.l. 




IIos. iii. 5. 


; 


Luke viii. 28. 


Most High. 


Job ix. 33. 


Day's-man. 


Mark. i. 24. 


Holy one of God. 


2 Pet. i. 10. 


Day-star. 


Isa. xii. 14. 


Holy one of Israel. 


Kom. xi. 26. 


Deliverer. 


Acts iv. 30. 


Holy child. 


Hag. ii. 7. 


Desire of all nations. 


Cant. iv. 11. 


Honey-comb. 


lies. xiv. 5. 


Dew. 


Acts xxviii. 20. 


Hope. 


I.«a. Ixii. 3. 


Diadem. 


1 Tim. i. 1. 





(298) 



NAMES AND TITLES 


GIVEN TO 


CHRIST 299 


Ps. xviii. 2. 


Horn of salvation. 


— Ixiii.l. 


Mighty God. 


Isa. liv. 5. 


Husband. 


Heb. vui. 2. 


Minister. 


Jer. xxxi. 32. 




Rev. ii. 28. 
— xxii. 16. 


Morning star. 


Exod. iii. U. 


I Am. 


Acts iii. 22. 


Moses. 


John viii. 58. 




Matt. i. 23. 


Nazarite. 


Heb. i. 3. 


[mage of God. 






Isa. vii. 14. 


Immanuel. 


Rev. xxii. 16. 


Offspring of David. 


1 Tim. i. 17. 


Immortal. 


John i. 14. 


Only-begotten. 


Ezek. xliv. 28. 


Inheritance. 


Cant. i. 3. 


Ointment. 


1 Tim. i. 17. 


Invisible. 






Isa. xliv. 21. 


Israel. 


1 Cor. V. 7. 


Passover. 


— xlix. 3. 




Ezk xxxiv. 29. 


Plant of renown. 






1 Tim. vi. 15. 


Potentate. 


Isa. xli. 8. 


Jacob. < 


Acts iii. 15.. 


Prince. 


— xliv. 1, 5. 




— V. 31. 




Ps. Ixviii. 4. 


Jah. 


Luke iv. 19. 


Prophet. 


Isa. xxvi. 4. 


Jehovah. 


Acts iii. 22. 




— xl. 3. 




1 John ii. 2. 


Propitiation. 


Cant. V). 4. 


Jerusalem. 


— iv. 10. 




Matt. i. 21. 


Jesus. 


1 Cor. i. 24. 


Power of God. 


1 Thess. i. 10. 




Mai. iii. 3. 


Purifier. 


Rev. V. 5. 


Judah, 


Matt. ix. 12. 


Physician. 


Mich. V. 1. 


Judge. 


Isa. xl. 2. 


Polished shaft. 


Acts X. 42. 




Heb. iv. 14. 
— viL26. 


Priest. 


Matt. xxi. 5. 


King. 






— XXV. 34. 




1 Tim. ii. 6. 


Ransom. 






Rev. xiv. 15. 


Reaper. 


Gen, xxviii. 12. 


Ladder. 


Isa. lix. 20. 


Redeemer. 


John i. 29. 


Lamb. 


— Ix. 10. 




Rev. V. 6. 




John xi. 25. 


Resurrection. 


Isa. xxiii. 22. 


Lawgiver. 


Mai. iii. 3. 


Refiner. 


James iv. 12. 




Isa. XXV. 4. 


Refuge. 


Isa. Iv. 4. 


Leader. 


Jer. xxxiii. 6. 


Righteousness 


John i. 9. 


Light. 


Deut.xxxii. 15. 


Rock. 


— viii. 12. 




1 Cor. X. 4. 




— xii. 46. 




Isa. xi. 1. 


Rod and branch 


John xiv. 6. 


Life. 


Rev. xxii. 16. 


Root of David. 


Rev. V. 5. 


Lion of the tribe of Ju- 


Cant. ii. 9. 


Roe and hart. 




dah. 


Cant. ii. 1. 


Rose of Sharon. 


1 Tim. iii. 15. 


Living God. 


Mich. V. 2. 


Ruler in IsraeL 


Exod. xxxiv. 6. 


Long suffering. 






Rom. i. 3. 


Lord. 


Eph. V. 2. 


Sacrifice. 


Rev. xvii. 14. 




Luke ii. 30. 


Salvation. 


Cant. V. 16. 


Lovely. 


Luke X. 33. 


Samaritan. 






1 Cor. i. 30. 


Sanctification. 


Acts xvii. 31. 


Man. 


Isa. viii. 14. 


Sanctuary. 


1 Tim. ii. 5. 




Gal. iii. 29. 


Seed of Abraham. 


Matt. viii. 19. 


Master. 


2 Tim. ii. 8. 


Seed of David. 


— xxiii. 6. 




Gen. iii. 15. 


Seed of the woman. 


1 Tim. ii. 5. 


Mediator. 


1 Cor. XV. 47. 


Second man. 


Heb. vii. 1. 


Melchisedec. 


Isa. xlii. 1. 19. 


Servant. 


lieb. ii. 17. 


Merciful. 


— xliv. 21. 




Mai. ii. 7. 


Messenger. 


John X. 11. 


Shepherd. 


- iii. 1. 




Heb. xiii. 20. 




Dan. ix. 25. 


Messiah, 


Gen. XV. 1. 


Shield. 


John i. 41. 




Ps. xviii. 35. 




Dan. xii. 1. 


Michael. 


Gen. xlix. 10, 


Shiloh, ~ ' 


Rev. xii. 7. 




Cant. iii. 7. 


Solomon. 


Isa. ix. 6. 


Mighty God. 


1 — viii. 11. 12. 





300 NAMES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 


Matt. iv. 3. 


Son of God. 


Rev. ii. 7. 


Tree of life. 


— viii. 29. 




John xiv. 6. 


Truth. 


Matt. Tiii. 20. 


Son of man. 






Matt. xiii. 3. 


Sower. 


John XV. 1. 


Vine. 


1 Cor. XV. 45. 


Spirit. 






Heb. ix. 14. 




Zech. ii. 5. 


Wall of fire. 


Matt. xxi. 42. 


Stone refused. 


Isa. XXXV. 8. 


Way, 


1 Sam. XV. 29. 


Strength of Israel. 


John xiv. 6. 




Ps. Ixxxix. 8. 


Strong of God. 


Cant. iv. 15. 


Well of living waters. 


Rev. xviii. 8. 




Matt. xxii. 12. 


Wedding garment. 


Ileb. X. 34. 


Substance. 


1 Cor. i. 24. 


Wisdom of God. 


3Ial. iv. 2. 


Sun of Righteousness. 


Rev. iv. 5. 


Witness. 


Ileb. vii. 22. 


Surety. 


— iii. 14. 




Isa. xlix. 2. 


Sharp sword. 


Isa. ix. 6. 
— xxviii. 29. 


Wonderful. 


Heb. viii. 2. 


Tabernacle. 


Rev. xix. 13. 


Word of God. 


— ix. 11. 




Heb. iii. 3. 


Worthy. 


John. iii. 2. 


Teacher. 


Rev. T. 12. 




Mark. xiv. 58. 


Temple. 






Heb. ix. 16, 17. 


Testator. 


Heb. xiii. 8 


Yesterday, to-day, for- 


Luke xii. 33. 


Treasure. 




ever. 


Mmm ml €itte nf ttiB M^ Ipirit, 


John iii. 6; 


The Spirit. 


iRom. Tiii. 15; 


Spirit of Adoption. 


1 Tim. iv. 1. 




IGal. iv. 5, 6. 




Gen.i. 2; 


The Spirit of God. 


jlsa.xi. 2. 






— xli. 38. 
Eph. iv. 30. 




2 Cor. iv. 13. 
jlPet. iv. 14. 


T?„;+i, 


The Holy Spirit of God. 


Glory 




Rev. i. 4. 


The 7 Spirits of God. 


i Zech. xii. 10 ; 


Grace. 


Isa. xi. 2. 


The Spirit of the Lord. 


Heb. X. 29. 




Acts v 9 ' 






XJ t^M-r^r^ctn 


2 Cor. "iii.'lT. 
Heb. ix. 14. 




Isa. iv.'4; 
— xxviu. 6. 




The Eternal Spirit. 




Matt. X. 20. 


The Spirit of the Father 


— xi. 2. 






Isa. vi. 8. 


The Yoice of the Lord. 


Rom. viii. 2. 


Life. 


Job. xxxiu. 4. 


The Breath of the Al- 


iRev.xi.ll. 






mighty. 


Rom. XV. 30. 


Love. 


Luke i. 35. 


The Power of the High- 


2 Tim. i. 7. 






est. 


Isa. xi. 2. 


Might. 


Psa. Ii.l2. 


Free Spirit. 


Eph. i. 13. 


Promise. 


Neh ix 20' 


Good Spirit. 


Rev. xix. 10. 
Eph. i. 17. 




Psa. cxliii. 10. 


Revelation. 


"Rnm viii • 


Spirit of Christ. 


John xiv. 17; 
— xv.26,&e. 


Truth 


XlULLi. V 111. */ J 

1 Pet. i. 11. 




<jal. iv. 6. 


of the Son. 

The Comforter. 


Isa. xi. 2. 


TT»^ A /^>.i>+ rt r^ /^ 


John xiv .16,26; 


ing. 


— XV. 26. 




Eph. i. 17. 




i 







3tii3tHlaHBntis. 



*** The divisions into Fours, Twos, and the like, are made to strike the eye and 
help the memory. 



TEN PATRIARCHS BEFORE THE 
FLOOD. 

4 Adam — Seth — Enos — Cainan. 

2 Mahalaleel— Jared. 

4 Enoch— Methusaleh—Lamecli— Noah. 



10 



TEN PATRIARCHS FROM THE 
FLOOD TO ABRAHAM. 

1 Shem. 

2 Arphaxed — Salah. 

3 Eber — Peleg — Reu. 

4 Serug — Nahor — Terah — Abraham. 



10 



THREE PATRIARCHS RECKONED 
AFTER ABRAHAM. 



Isaac. 
Jacob. 
Joseph. 



THE SEVEN NATIONS OF THE CA- 
NAANITES DESTROYED BY IS- 
RAEL.— Numb, xxi. 1-3; Acts xiii. 
19. 

3 Hittites — Girgashites — Amorites. 
Canaanites. 
Perizzites — Hivites — Jebusites. 



TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT. 
Exod. vii. 20. 1. Blood. 



10. 

23. 

X. 14, 15. 

22,23. 



2. Frogs. 

3. Lice. 

4. Flies. 

5. Murrain. 



6. Boils. 

7. Hail. 

8. Locusts. 

9. Darkness. 



10. Death of first- 
born. 



TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



Exod. XX. 3. 

4,1 

7. 



8,11, 
12. 



13. 
14. 
15. 
16 
17. 

26" 



I. Thou shalt have no other gods, &c. 
II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, Ac. 

III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in 

vain, &c, 

IV. Remember the Sabbath day, &c, 

V. Honor thy father and thy mother, &c. 



VI. Thou shalt not kill. 
VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 
VIII. Thou shalt not steal. 
IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness. 
X. Thou shalt not covet, &c. 



(301) 



302 



MISCELLANEOUS, 



THE TWELVE TRIBES. 



Numb. i. 5. 



11 



1. Reuben. 

2. Simeon. 

3. Judah. 

4. Issachar. 



5. Zebulun. 

6. Ephraim. ) Sons of 

7. Manasseh. | Joseph. 

8. Benjamin. 



9. Dan. 

10. Asher. 

11. Gad. 

12. Naphtali. 



Levi would have made a 13th tribe, but 
the land was not divided among the 
priesthood. 



THE TWELVE TRIBES AS EN- 
CAMPED AROUND THE TABER- 
NACLE.* 

[south.] 
Reuben — Simeon — Gad. 



Al 



•ifB^qdBV— jsqsy — uud 

[•HXaOxSL] 



THE TWELVE TRIBES IN MARCH- 
ING ORDER. 



Numb. X. 14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 



18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 



First body ix front. 

Judah. 

Isi=achar. 

Zebulun. 

The sons of Gershon 

and of Merari, 
bearing the tabernacle. 



Secont). 

Reuben. 

Simeon. 

Gad. 

Kohathites bearing the 

sanctuary. 



Third. 

Ephraim. 
Manasseh. 
Benjamin. 



Fourth and rear. 

Dan. 

Asher. 

Naphtali. 



TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS. 

1. Hosea. 

2. Joel. 

3. Amos. 



4. Obadiah. 

5. Jonah. 

6. Micah. 



7. Nahum. 
8 Habakkuk. 
9. Zephaniah. 



10. Ha?;gai. 

11. Zechariah. 

12. Malachi. 



* See Kitto's Cyclopaedia, 6. 27. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 303 


Numb. X 


TW] 

ONE 

ii.4. 

5. 
6. 

7. 
8. 

9. 

16. 
11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 
15. 

lEE 

23. 


ELVE SPIES,- 

FROM EACH TRIE 

Tribes. 


E. 

Spies. 

Sham- 
mua. 

Shaphat. 

Caleb, 
who en- 
couraged 
the peo- 
ple. 

Igal. 

Oshea, or 
Joshua, 
son of 
Nun. 

Palti. 

Gaddiel. 
Gaddi. 

Ammiel. 

Sethur. 
Nahbi. 
Geuel. 


FOURTEEN JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 

First Judge. Last Judge. 
Othniel. Samuel 


1. Reuben. 

2. Simeon. 

3. Judah. 

4. Issachar. 

5. Ephraim. 

6. Benjamin. 

7. Zebulun. 

8. Manasseh, 

or Joseph. 

9. Dan. 

10. Asher. 

11. Naphtali. 

12. Gad. 




THREE KINGS OF JUD^A. 
Saul. David. Solomon. 


THI 

Matt. ii. 

— xi\ 
Luke ix. 

Acts xii. 

Matt, i.; 
Luke X.; 
Luke vi 

XX. 

John xb 
Acts xii. 
Rom. XV 


NINETEEN KINGS OF ISRAEL. 

From 
Jeroboam to Hoshea. 


NINETEEN KINGS, AND ONE 
QUEEN OF JUDAH. 

From 
Rehoboam to Zedekiah. 


HERODS MEN 

1. Herod the Gi 

2. Herod Anti 

the tetrar 

3. Ilerod Agrip 


TIO 

eat. 

pas, 
ch. 

pa. 


NED IN NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY. 
Remarks. 

Son of Antipater, an Tdumean nobleman. He 
murdered the infants at Bethlehem, and re- 
built the temple. 

Son of Herod the Great ; married Herodias, his 
brother's wife ; murdered John the Baptist ; 
mocked Jesus. 

Nephew of Ilerod Antipas, and grandson of 
Ilerod the Great; murdered the apostle 
James; sought the life of Peter; died by- 
God's judgment. 

1 


SI- 

Luk 
Job 
i.; IN 

c. 

i. 6. 


X MARYS MENTIONED 

e i., ii. 

n xi., xii. 

[att. xxvii., xxviii.; John 


IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

1. Mary the mother of Jesus. 

2. Mary the sister of Lazarus. 

3. Mary Magdalene. 

4. Mary the wife of Cleophas. 

5. Mary the mother of IMark. 

6. Mary of Rome. 



304 M I S C E L L A N E U S . 


THE SEVEN CIIUltCnES IN ASIA. ] 


1 TWELVE APOSTLES. | 


Rev. i. 11. 


1. Ephesus. 


Matt. X. 2: 


Peter, so called by 




2. Smyrna. 


John i. 42-44. 


. Christ, or Simon. 




3. Pergamos. 


Matt. iv. 18; 


Andrew, brother of 






— X. 2. 


Peter. 






— iv. 24; 


James, the son of Ze- 




4. Thyatira. 


- X.2. 


bedee, brother of 
John, called the 
Great, to distinguish 




5. Sardis. 




him from the son 




6. Philadelphia. 




of Alphaeus. 


7. Laodicea. 


Matt. X. 2 ; 


John, brother of 




Mark iii. 17 ; 


James. 




John xxi. 22-24. 






Matt. X. 3; 


Philip. 


THE SEVEN DEACONS IN THE 


John i. 43-45. 




PRIMITIVE CHURCH.-Acts. vi. 5. 


Matt. X. 3; 
John i. 45. 


Bartholomew. 


4Stephen-Philip-Prochorus--Nicaiior. 


Matt. X. 3; 


Thomas. 


2 Tirnon— Parnienas. 


John xi. 16; 




1 Nicolas. 


— XX. 24. 




— 


Matt.ix. 9; 


Matthew, called also 


7 


— X.3; 
Luke V. 27. 
Matt, x.3: 


Levi. 


THE EIGHT BEATITUDES. 


James, the son of Al- 




Blessed are 


— xxvii.56. 


phaeus, called the 
Less, or younger 


Matt T. 3. 


1. The poor inspirit; 




brother of our Lord, 


4. 


2. They that mourn ; 




as he was a son of 


5. 


3. The meek : 




Alphjeus Cleophas 


6. 


4. They which do hun- 




by Mary, the sister 




ger and thirst after 




of the Virgin Mary. 




righteousness ; 


Matt, x.3; 


Lebbajus, called also 






! Mark iii. 18. 


Thaddieus. 






Matt. X. 4; 


Simon tlie Canaanite, 


7. 


5. The merciful ; 


Luke vii. 36, 50. 


called also Zeloles. 


8. 


6. The pure in heart ; 


Matt. X. 4. 


Judas Iscariot. 


9. 


7. The peacemakers ; 


Acts i. 16-20. 


Matthias, chosen in 


10. 


8. They which are per- 
secuted. 


1 


the place of Judas. 


THIRTEEN 


APPEARANCES OF JESUS AFTER THl 


3 RESURRECTION. 


1. To Mary Magdalene, John xx. 14 ; Mark xvi. 9, 


2. To the other" women, Matt, xxriii. 9. 


3. To Peter. 1 Cor. xv. 5 ; Luke xxiv. 34. 


4. To two disciples, as they were going to Emmaus, Mark xvi. 12, 13 ; Luke 


xxiv. 13-32. 


5. The same day at evening to the apostles, in the ahsence of Thomas, 1 Cor. 


XV. 5 ; Mark xvi. 14 ; Luke xxiv. 36 ; John xx. 19, 24. 


6, To the apostles, when Thomas was present, John xx. 24-29. 


7. In Galilee, at the sea of Tiberias, to Peter Thomas, Nathaniel, James and 


John, and two others, John xxi. 1-14. 


8. To the disciples, on a mountain in Galilee, Matt, xxviii. 16. 


9. To more than five hundred brethren at once, 1 Cor. xv. 6. 


10. To James, one of the apostles, 1 Cor. xv. 7. 


11. To all the apostles assembled together, 1. Cor. xv. T. 


12. To the apostles at his ascension, Luke xxiv. 50, 51 ; Acts i. 9, 10. 


13. To Paul, 1 


Cor. XV. 8 ; Acts ix. 3, 4, 5 ; xxii. 6-10. 






THY L A "\V IS THE TRUTH 


! 



1 

1 


[the chief instances only being selected and numbered.] 


PROPHECY OP 4 KINGDOMS RE- 


CORRESPONDING EVENTS IN 


PRESENTED BY 4 BEASTS. 


THEIR HISTORICAL ORDER. 


THE FIRST BEAST. 


ASSYRIAN EMPIRE, 


1. A lion, 


1. The Babylonian empire ; 


2. having eagle's wings ; 


2. Nineveh, &c., added to it— but 


3. the wings were plucked ; 


3. Nineveh was almost destroyed at 




the fall of Sardanapalus. 


4. it was raised from the ground, 


i. Yet this empire was again elevated 




to power, 


5. and made to stand on the feet, as a 


5. and seemed to acquire stability un- 


man: 


der Nebuchadnezzar, 


6. and a man's heart [intgllect] was 


6. who laid the foundation of its sub- 


given to it.— Dan. ch. iv. 


sequent policy and authority. 


THE SECOND BEAST. 


PERSUN EMPIRE. 


1. A ram 


1. Darius, or the Persian power, 


2. which had two horns. 


2. Composed of Media and Persia— 


3. both high, 


3. both considerable provinces, 


4. but one higher than the other ; 


4. Media the most powerful; yet this 




most powerful 


5. the highest came up last ; 


5. Median empire, under Dejoces, rose 




after the other; 


6. the ram pushed north, west, and 


6. and extended its conquests under 


south. 


Cyrus over Lydia, &c., west, over 




Asia north, over Babylon, &c.. 




south, and 


7. did as he pleased, and became great. 


7. ruling over such an extent of coun- 




try was a great empire. 


THE THIRD BEAST. 


GRECIAN EMPIRE. 


1. A he-goat 


1. Alexander, or the Greek power. 


2. came from the west, 


2. came from Europe (west of Asia) 


3. gliding swiftly over the earth ; 


3. with unexampled rapidity of success ; 


5, ran unto the ram in the fury of his 


4. attacked Darius furiously, and 


po-sVer, 




5. smote him. 


5. beat him — at the Granicus, Issus, 

&c. ; 

6. conquered Persia, Media, &c.; 


6. brake his 2 horns, 


7. cast him on the gi'ound. 


7. ruined the power of Darius, 


8. stamped on him, and [Turn over.] 


8. insomuch that Darius was murdered, 




&c. 



26* 



(305) 



306 PERIODS OF BIBLE HISTORY. 


9. waxed very great; 


9. Alexander overran Bactriana to 




India, 


10. when he was strong his great horn 


10. but died at Babylon in the zenith 


was broken, and 


of his fame and power ; 


11. instead of it, came up 4 notable 


11. his dominions were parcelled among 


ones 


Seleucus, Antigonus, Ptolemy, 




Cassander (who had been his offi- 




cers :) 


12. towards the 4 winds of heaven ; 


12. in Babylon, Asia Minor, Egypt, 




Greece. 


13. cut of one of them a little horn 


13. Antiochus the Great, succeeded by 


waxed great 


Antiochus Epiphanes, 


14. toward the south and east, 


14. conquered Egypt, &c. 


15. which took away the daily sacrifice, 


15. and endeavored utterly to subvert 


and cast down the sanctuary, &c. 


the Jewish polity : polluting their 


—Dan. chap. viii. 3-12. 


temple-worship and sacrifices to 




the utmost of his power. 


|5ninh nf foihU lisfnrii. 


Bible History has been divided into Ten Periods :— 


Period I. 


The World before the Deluge. 


II. 


The Times of the Patriarchs. 


III. 


The Journeyings of Israel to Canaan. 


IV. 


The Administration of the Judges. 


V. 


The Monarchy of the Hebrews. 


VT. 


The Kingdoms of Judah and Israel. 


VII. 


The Captivity in Babylon. 


VIII. 


The Restoration of the Jews. 


IX.* 


The Age of the Apocrypha. 


X. 


The Times of Christ and his apostles. 


* The age of the Apocrypha, though not strictly Bihlical, vet intervening between the 


Old and New Testaments, relates to various important events connected with Biblical 


History. Some, however, omit it, and make Nine periods. 



€Mt nf fitkm €mn iinii /i^stinnb. 


Hebrew Months. 


Nearly corres- 
poudin? with 


Monlhs 
of the 

Sacred 
Year. 


Months 
of the 
Civil 
Year. 


Sea- 
sons. 

"i 
\' 

O 
_^ 

H 
p 

5' 

t 
- 1-- 

t 

r 


Festivals. 


Abib.. or Nisan, 
Exod. 12 : 2, 18. 

" 13 : 4. 
Esth. 3 : 7. 


April. 


1st 


7th 


14. Paschal lamb killed. 

15. Passover. 

16. First fruits of barley har- 

vest presented to the 
Lord. 
21. Passover ended. 


Tyar, or Zif, 
1 Kings 6 : 1. 


May. 


2d 


8th 




Sivan, 
Esth. 8 : 9. 


June. 


3d 


9th 


6. Pentecost. First-fruits 
of wheat presented to 
the Lord. 


Tammuz. 
Eze. 8 : 14. 


July. 


4th 


10th 




Ab. 


August. 


5th 


11th 




Elul, 
Neh. 6 : 15. 


September. 


6th 


12th 


9. Temple taken on this day 
by the Chaldeans, and 
afterwards by the Ro- 
mans. 


Ethanim, or 

Tishri, 
1 Kings 8 : 2. 


October. 


7th 


1st 


1. Feast of Trumpets. 
10. Day of Atonement. 
15. Feast of Tabernacles. 
22. Last day of the feast. 


Marcheshvan, 

or Bui, 
1 Kings 6 : 38. 


November. 


8th 


2d 




Chisleu, 
Zech. 7 : 1. 


December. 


9th 


3d 


25. Feast of the Dedication 
of the Temple. 


Tebeth, 
Esth. 2 : 16. 


January. 


10th 


4th 




Shebat, 
Zech. 1 : 7. 


February. 


11th 


5th 




Adar, 
Esth. 3:7. 
Ve-Adar is add- 
ed here when 
necessary. 


March. 


12th 


6th 


14 and 15. Feast of Purim. 
Esth. 9 : 18-21. 



(307) 



308 EXPLANATION OF SCRIPTURE PHRASES. 






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s 



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EXPLANATION OF SCRIPTURE PHRASES. 309 



_H^_h, o <; i-:i S S H o 



i 2 «; g MS, 



S S a P ■£ 
g' S i . •? it 



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2 fl <o 



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g B S3 

^ ^ a 

■^ "S "3 ^ .J 

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o q 2 o £-• i> 



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lXl:;ooa;.2^o=*3><!oSofl>;pOcsa)gSci'5 



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to 

a o i3, 
5 -^ '-t? ^ '-S R ■ 






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itSoo 



I I I l| I I 1^ I I 1^ 1 1^^ I I ! S 1^ 



l'^ I 



^1^1 III 




S S ^ .2 . •- o § 

Dj fi ffl 1^ ft^ cc p a* 



^ . ■» bo ® 5 9 ^ °5 d ' 






i-l CO IM > 
_ . CO . -Ih 

:S _>^ -^ g 
o I I » 



■^ . .• --I .^ . J .^ ;>^ <^ J -d (^ S M (N -.5 ^ . 5 .^ 

:i >-^ X ^>V, a^ . -.5 X X = > :a . ^"><-" 

fXx;:^ ,:5oda)C0p»xx><;-"t^X^ 

i I M 1 M|J I II ll| ! I|° 



JfiS] 



^ +j f; ■? 'j^ 'x xM 5 ■? 
■| I I M 1|| I 



a €eIiU H|]iMting tjii! CjirDiinlDgti nf \\)t 






lnnintir's lift 




Years of 

Christ's 

Life. 


Julian 
Period. 


Olympiads. 


Years of 
Rome. 


Time of Passover. 


1 


4709 


193 4 


749 


March 23. 


2 


4710 


194 1 


750 


April 12. 


3 


4711 


« 2 


751 


April 4. 


4 


4712 


« 3 


752 


April 24. 


5 


4713 


« 4 


753 


April 7. 


6 


4714 


195 1 


754 


March 31. 


7 


4715 


" 2 


755 


April 20. 


8 


4716 


« 3 


756 


April 5. 


9 


4717 


« 4 


757 


March 27. 


10 


4718 


196 1 


758 


April 16. 


11 


4719 


« 2 


759 


April 1. 


12 


4720 


3 


760 


April 2. 


13 


4721 


" 4 


761 


April 12. 


14 


4722 


197 1 


762 


March 28. 


15 


4723 


« 2 


763 


April 17. 


16 


4724 


« 3 


764 


April 9. 


17 


4725 


« 4 


765 


March 31. 


18 


4726 


198 1 


766 


April 13. 


19 


4727 


" 2 


767 


April 5. 


20 


4728 


« 3 


768 


March 28. 


21 


4729 


« 4 


769 


April 16. 


22 


4730 


199 1 


770 


April 1. 


23 


4731 


« 2 


771 


April 21. 


24 


4732 


3 


772 


April 6. 


25 


4733 


« 4 


773 


March 28. 


26 


4734 


200 1 


774 


April 17. 


27 


4735 


" 2 


775 


April 9. 


28 


4736 


" 3 


776 


March 25. 


29 


4737 


« 4 


777 


April 13. 


30 


4738 


201 1 


778 


April 1. 


31 


4739 


" 2 


779 


March 25. 


32 


4740 


" 3 


780 


April 10. 


33 


4741 


« 4 


781 


April 1. 


34 


4742 


202 1 


7S2 


March 21. 



(310) 



a €Mt nljihitinit tjiB Impnrtniit fente in ^ra- 


imt listorii iiiiriiig tl;^ life nf (Cjjrisl 


Years of Christ's Life. 


Years of Christ's Life. 


1. A plot of Antipater against his fa- 


19. Augustus Cassar dies. Tiberius 


ther, Herod, is discovered. 


succeeds hini. 


2. Antipater is convicted before Quinti- 


20. Valerius Gratus is made procurator 


lius Varus, and put to death. 


of Judea. 


3. Herod dies. Archelaus succeeds him 


22. Germanicus, the adopted son of 


in the government of Judea. 


Tiberius, is sent to quell disturb- 


4. This year begins the Christian era. 


ances in the East. 


5. Caius Cassar, grandson to Augustus, 


23. Germanicus reduces Cappadocia and 


passes through Jerusalem tomarchi 


Comagene into the form of Roman 


against the Armenians. 


provinces. 


7. Tiberius is recalled from Rhodes, 


24. Germanicus is poisoned at Antioch 


and returns to Rome. 


by Piso, president of Syria. 


8. Caius Caesar dies after his return 


25. Piso, being accused of this murder, 


from Armenia. 


kills himself. 


9. Augustus, on the death of his two 


26. Valerius Gratus removes Annas 


grandsons, adopts Tiberius. 


from being high-priest, and gives 


10. Archelaus is accused before Augus- 


the oflace to Ishmael, son of Fabas. 


tus for his maladministration. He 


29. Eleazer, the son of Annas, is made 


is banished to Lyons, in Gaul. Co- 


high-priest. 


ponius is made procurator of Ju- 


30. Simon, the son of Canith is made 


dea. 


high-priest in place of Eleazer. 


15. Marcus Ambivius is made procura- 


Caiaphas succeeds him. 


tor of Judea. Salome, the sister 


31. Pontius Pilate is made procurator 


of Herod, dies. 


of Judea. 


17. Tiberius is admitted into the go- 


32. Herod puts to death John the Bap- 


vernment with Augustus. 


tist. 


18. Annius Rufus is made procurator 


34. Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to 


of Judea. 


be crucified. 


€^t l^nrahhs nf 3tn^, 


ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. 


Parables. 


Places. 


References. 


Parable of the 






Sower. 


Capernaum. 


Matt. xiii. 1-23. 


Tares. 


" 


24-30-36 

-43. 


Seed springing up imperfectly. 


(I 


Mark iv. 26-29. 


Grain of Mustard seed. 


if 


Matt. xii. 31. 32. 


Leaven. 


« 


— xiii. 33. 


Found treasure. 


C( 


44. 


Precious pearl. 


i( 


45, 46. 


Net. 


" 


47-50. 


Two debtors. 


« 


Luke vii. 36-50. 


Unmerciful servant. 


il 


Matt, xviii. 23-35. 


Samaritan. 


Near Jericho. 


Luke x. 25-37. 


Rich fool. 


Galilee. 


— xii. 16-21. 



(311) 



312 



THE MIEACLES OF CHKIST. 



P arables. 



Parable of the 

Servants who waited for their Lord. 

Barren fig-tree. 

Lost sheep. 

Lost piece of money. 

Prodigal son. 

Dishonest steward. 

Eich man and Lazarus. 

Unjust judge. 

Pharisee and Publican. 

Laborers in the vine-yard. 

Pounds. 

Two sons. 

Vineyard. 

Marriage feast. 

The Virgins. 

Talents. 

Sheep and the Goats. 



Places. 


References. 


Galilee. 


Luke xii. 3.5-48. 


" 


— xiii. 6-9. 


'•' 


— XV. 3-7. 


" 


8-10. 


" 


11-32. 


(( 


— XTi.1-12. 




19-31. 


Peraea. 


— XTiii. 1-8. 


" 


9-14. 


« 


Matt. XX. 1-16. 


Jericho. 


Luke xix. 12-27. 


Jerusalem. 


Matt. xxi. 28-32. 




33-46. 


« 


— xxii. 1-14. 


K 


- XXV. 1-13. 




14-30. 


" 


31-46. 



ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, 



Jesus 



Turns water into wine. 
Cures the nobleman's son of Caper- 
naum. 
Causes a miraculous draught of fishes. 
Cures a demoniac. 

Heals Peter's wife's mother of a fever. 
Heals a leper. 

Heals the centurion's servant. 
Raises the widow's son. 
Calms the tempest. 
Cures the demoniacs of Gadara. 
Cures a man of the palsy. 
Restores to life the daughter of Jairus. 

Cures a woman diseased with a flux 
of blood. 

Restores to sight two blind men. 

Heals one possessed with a dumb 
spirit. 

Cures an infirm man at Bethesda. 

Cures a man with a withered hand. 

Cures a demoniac. 

Feeds miraculously five thousand. 

Heals the woman of Canaan's daugh- 
ter. 

Heals a man who was dumb and deaf 

Feeds mir.aculously four thousand. 

Gives sight to a blind man. 

Cures a boy possessed of a devil. 



Places. 


References. 


Cana. 


John ii. 1-11. 


« 


— iv. 45-64. 


Sea of Galilee. 


Luke V. 1-11. 


Capernaum. 


Mark i. 22-28. 


" 


30-31. 


« 


40-45. 


U 


Matt. viii. 5-13. 


Nain. 


Luke vii. 11-17. 


Sea of Galilee. 


Matt. viii. 23-27. 


Gadara. 


28-34. 


Capernaum. 


— ix.1-8. 




18,19,23- 

26. 


li 


Luke viii. 43-48. 


" 


Matt. ix. 27-31. 


« 


32-33. 


Jerusalem. 


John V. 1-9. 


Judea. 


Matt. xii. 10-13. 


1 Capernaum. 


22-23. 


Decapolis. 


— xiv.;xv. 21. 


Xear Tyre. 


— XV. 22-28. 


Decapolis. 


Mark vii. 31-37. 


" 


Matt. XV. 32-39 


Bethsaida. 


Mark xiii. 22-26. 


Tabor. 


Matt. xvii. 14-21. 



THE DISCOURSES OF JESUS. 



813 



Miracles. 



Jesus 



Restores to sight a man born blind 
Heals a woman under an infirmity 

eighteen years. 
Cures a dropsy. -' 

Cleanses ten lepers. 
Raises Lazarus from the dead. 
Restores to sight two blind men. 
Blasts the fig-tree. 
Heals the ear of Malchus. 
Causes the miraculous draughts of 

fishes. 



Places. 


References. 


Jerusalem. 


John ix. 


Galilee. 


Luke xiii. Il-IT. 


Samaria. 

Bethany. 

Jericho. 

Olivet. 

Gethsemane. 


— xiv. 1-6. 

— xvii. 11-19. 
John xl. 

Matt. XX. .30-34. 

— xxi. 18-22. 
Luke xxii. 50, 51. 


Sea of Galilee. 


John xxi, 1-14. 



€\it ^hxnun^ nf ^tn^, 



ARRANGED IN" CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, 



Discourses, 



Conversation with Nicodemus. 

Conversation with the woman of Samaria 

Discourse in the Synagogue of Nazareth. 

Sermon upon the Mount. 

Instruction to the Apostles. 

Denunciations against Chorazin, &c. 

Discourse on occasion of healing the infirm 
man at Bethesda, 

Discourse concerning the disciples plucking 
of corn on the Sabbath. 

Reputation of his working miracles by the 
agency of Beelzebub. 

Discourse on the bread of life. 

Discourse about internal purity. 

Discourse against giving or taking offence, 
and concerning forgiveness of Injuries. 

Discourse at the feast of tabernacles. 

Discourse on occasion of woman taken in 
adultery. 

Discourse concerning the sheep. 

Denunciations against the Scribes and Phari- 
sees. 

Discourse concerning humility and pru- 
dence. 

Directions how to attain heaven. 

Discourse concerning his sufferings. 

Denunciations against the Pharisees. 

Prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem. 

The consolatory discourse. 

Discourse as he went to Gethsemane. 

Discourse to the disciples before his ascen- 



Places. 


References. 


Jerusalem, 

Sychar. 

Nazareth. 

Galilee, 


John iii. 1-21. 

— iV. 1^42, 
Luke iv. 16^31. 
Matt. V. ; vii. 

— xL 20-24. 


Jerusalem. 


John V. 


Judea. 


Matt. xii. 1-8. 


Capernaum. 


22-37. 

John vii. 
Matt. XV. 1-20. 


Jerusalem. 


— xviil. 
John vii.- 




- viii.; i.-ii. 

— X, 


Peraea. 


Luke xi. 29-36. 


Galilee. 
Peraea. 
Jerusalem. 


^ xiv. 7-14. 
Matt. xix. 16-.30. 

— XX, 17-19. 

— xxiii. 




— xxiv. 
John XV. ; xvii. 
Matt. xxvi. 31-36. 


« 


— xxviii. 16-23. 



27 



f umliks lUraM in tjiB (Dlii ^Bstamrnt, 



Parables. 


Spoken at 


Recorded in 


Of Balaam.— Concerning the Moabites 






and Israelites. 


Mount Pisgah. 


Num. xsiii. 24. 


JoTHAM.— Trees making a king. 


Mount Gerizim. 


Judg. ix. 7-15. 


Samsox. — Strong bringing forth sweet- 






ness. 


Timnath. 


Judg. xiv. 14. 


Nathan.— Poor man's ewe lamb. 


Jerusalem. 


2 Sam. xii. 1-4. 


Woman of Tekoah.— Two brothers striv- 






ing. 


Jerusalem. 


2 Sam. xiv. 1. 


The siHTTEN Peopiiet. — The escaped 






prisoner. 


Near Samaria. 


1 Kings XX. 35-40. 


Jfho^sft, King of Iskael.— The thistle 






and cedar. 


Jerusalem. 


2 Kings xiv. 9. 


Isaiah.— Yineyard yielding wild grapes. 


Jerusalem. 


Isa. V. 1-6. 


EzKKTKT,,— Lions' whelps. 


Babylon. 


Ezek. xix. 2-9. 


The boiling pot. 


Babylon. 


Ezek. xxiv. 3-5. 


The great eagles and the vine. 


Babylon. 


Ezek. xvii. 3-10. 






Miracles. 


Where wrought. 
Jerusalem. 


Recorded in 


Peter heals a lame man. 


Acts iii. 1-11. 


Ananias and Sapphira struck dead. 


Jerusalem. 


V. 1-10. 


Apostles perform manv wonders. 


Jerusalem. 


V. 12-16. 


Peter and John communicate the Holy 






Ghost. 


Samaria. 


viii. 14-17. 


Peter healeth Eneas of a palsy. 


Lydda. 


ix. 33, 34. 


raiseth Tabitha, or Dorcas to life. 


Joppa. 


ix. 36-41. 


delivered out of prison bv an angel. 


Jerusalem. 


xii. 7-17. 


God smites Herod, so that he dies. 


Jerusalem, 


xii. 21-23. 


Elymas, the sorcerer, smitten with blind- 






ness. 


Paphos. 


xiii. 6-11. 


Paul converted. 


Road to Damascus. 


ix. 1-9. 


heals a cripple. 


Lystra. 


xiv. 8-10. 


casts out a spirit of divination. 


Phillippi. 


xvi. 16-18. 


— and Silas's prison doors opened by 






an earthcLuake. 


Phillippi. 


xvi. 25, 26. 


communicates the Holy Ghost. 


Corinth. 


xix. 1-6. 


heals multitudes. 


Corinth. 


xix. 11. 12. 


restores Eutychus to life. 


Troas. 


XX. 9-12. 


shakes off the viper. 


Melita. 


xxviii. 3-6. 


heals the father of Publius, and 






others. 


Melita. 


xxviii. 7-9. 



314 



HliratlrH ErtnM in tji^ (^11 €mlmml 


Miracles. 


Where wrought. 


Recorded in 


Aaron's rod changed. 


Egypt. 


Exod. 7ii. 10-1 -.i. 


Waters made blood. 


Egypt. 


20-25. 


Frogs produced. 


Egypt. 


viii. 5-14. 


Lice. 


Egypt. 


16-18. 


Flies. 


Egypt. 


20-24. 


Murrain. 


Egypt. 


X. 3-6. 


Boils. 


Egypt. 


8-11. 


Thunder, etc. 


Egypt. 


22-26. 


Locusts. 


Egypt. 


X. 12-19. 


Darkness. 


Egypt. 


21-23. 


Death of the first-born. 


Egypt. 


xii. 29, 30. 


Red Sea. 


Egypt. 


xiv. 21-31. 


Marah's waters sweetened. 


Marah. 


XV. 23-25. 


Blanna sent. 


In wilderness. 


xvi. 14-35. 


Water from the rock Kephidim. 


Rephidim. 


xvii. 5-7. 


Aaron's rod budded. 


Kadesh. 


Num. xvii. 1, etc. 


Nadab and Abihu consumed. 


Sinai. 


Lev. X. 1, 2. 


The burning of Taberah. 


Taberah. 


Num. xi. 1-3. 


Earthquake and fire. 




xvi. 31-35. 


Water flowing from the rock. 


Desert of Zin. 


XX. 7-11. 


Serpent, healing the Israelites. 


Desert of Zin 


xxi. 8, 9. 


Balaam's ass speaking. 


Pethor. 


xxii. 21-35. 


The river Joi'dan divided. 


River Jordan. 


Josh. iii. 14-17. 


Walls of Jericho fall down. 


Jericho. 


Ti. C-20. 


Sun and moon stand still. 


Gibeon. 


X. 12-14. 


Water flowing from the rock. 


En-hakkore. 


Judg. XV. 19. 


Philistines slain before the ark. 


Ashdod. 


1 Sam. V. 1-12. 


Men of Bethshemesh smitten. 


Bethshemesh. 


vi. 19. 


Thunder destroys Philistines. 


Ebenezer. 


vii. 10-12, 


Thunder and rain in harvest. 


Gilgal. 


xii. 18. 


Sound in the mulberry trees. 


Rephaim. 


2 Sam. V. 23-25, 


Uzzah struck dead. 


Perez-uzzah. 


vi. 7. 


Jeroboam's hand withered. 


Beth-el. 


1 Kings xiii. 4, 6. 


Widow of Zarephath's meal. 


Zarephath. 


xvii. 14-16. 


Widow's son raised. 


Zarephath. 


17-24. 


Sacrifice consumed. 


Mount Carmel. 


xviii. 30-38. 


Jlain obtained. 


Land of Israel. 


41-45. 


Ahaziah's captains consumed. 


Near Samaria. 


2 Kings i. 10-12. 


Eiver Jordan divided. 


River Jordan. 


ii. 7, 8, 14. 


Waters of Jericho healed. 


Jericho. 


21, 22, 


Water for Jehoshaphat's army. 


Land of Moab. 


iii. 16-20. 


The widow's oil multiplied. 




iv. 2-7. 


Shunamite's son raised. 


Shunem. 


32-37. 


The deadly pottage cured. 


Gilgal. 


38-41. 


Hundred men fed with 20 loaves. 


Gilgal. 


42-44. 


Namaan cured of his leprc-sy. 


Samaria. 


V. 10-14. 


Leprosy inflicted on Gehazi. 


Samaria. 


20-27. 


Iron swims. 


River Jordan. 


vi. 6-7. 


King of Syria's army smitten. 


Dotham. 


18-20, 


Elisha's bones revive the dead. 




xiii. 21. 


Sennacherib's army destroyed. 


Jerusalem. 


xix, 35. 


Sun goeth back. 


Jerusalem. 


XX. 9-11. 


Uzziah struck with leprosy. 


Jerusalem 


2 Ch. xxvi. 16-21. 


Shadrach, Meshach, etc., deliv. 


Babylon. 


Dan. iii. 19-27. 


Daniel in the den of lions. 


Babylon. 


vi. 16-23. 


.Jonah in the whale's belly. 




Jonah ii. 1-10. 



(315) 



€Mm nf ^ngjitS; 3KMBtirBB; unit Mm% 

MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE. 
1. JEWISH WEIGHTS, REDUCED TO ENGLISH TROY WEIGHT. 



The gerah, one-twentieth of a shekel * 

The bekah, half a shekel 

The shekel 

The maneh, 60 shekels 2 

The talent, 60 manehs, or 3000 shekels 125 



oz. pen. 


gr. 





12 


5 





10 





6 












2. SCRIPTURE MEASURES OF LENGTH, REDUCED TO ENGLISH 
MEASURE. 

Eng. ft. Inches. 

A digit 0.912 

4 rr A palm 3.648 

12 =r 3 = A span 10.944 

24= 6= 3 = A cubit 1 9.888 

96= 24= 6= 2=: A fathom 7 3.552 

144^ 36= 12== 6 :f: 1-5 = Ezekiel's reed 10 11.328 

192 -; 48 = 16 =: 8 = 2 =: 1-3 = An Arabian pole.... 14 7.104 

1920 = 480 = 160 = 80 = 20 = 13-3 = 10 = A measuring line 145 11.04 



3. THE LONG SCRIPTURE MEASURES. 

Eng. m. Paces. Et. 

A cubit 1.824 

400 = A stadium or furlong 145 4.G 

2000 =r 5 = A sabbath-day's journey 729 3. 

4000= 10 ::± 2 = An eastern mile 1 403 1. 

12000 r: 30 = 6 = 3 = A parasang 4 153 3. 

96000 = 240 :^ 48 = 24 = 8 = A day's journey 83 172 4. 

Note.— 5 feet — 1 pace ; 1,056 paces — 1 mile. 

(316) 



TABLES OF WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND MONEY. 317 



4. SCRIPTURE MEASURES OP CAPACITY FOR LIQUIDS, REDUCED 
TO ENGLISH WINE MEASURE. 

Gal. Pts. 

A caph 0.625 

1-3 = A log * 0.833 

5-3=: 4 = A cab 3.333 

16 =12= 3 = A bin 1 2. 

32 = 24= 6= 2 = Aseah 2 4, 

96 = 72 = 18 = 6 = 3 = A bath, ephah, or firkin 7 4.50 

960 = 720 = 180 = 60 = 20 = 10 = A kor, choros, or homer 75 5.25 



5. SCRIPTURE MEASURES OP CAPACITY FOR THINGS DRY, 
REDUCED TO ENGLISH CORN MEASURE. 

Bu. Pks. Gal. Pts. 

A gachal 0.141 

20 = A cab 2.833 

36= 1.8 = An omer or gomer , 5.1 

120= 6 = 3-3 = Aseah , 10 1. 

360= 18 = 10 = 3 = An ephah 3 3. 

1800= 90 =50 =15= 5 = Aletech 4 0. 

S600 = 180 =100 = 30 = 10 = 2 = A homer or kor 8 1. 



6. JEWISH MONEY, REDUCED TO THE ENGLISH AND AMERICAN 
STANDARDS. 

£. s. d. $. cts. 

Agerah O; 1.3G87 02.5 

10 = Abekah 1 1.C875 25.09 

20= 2 = A shekel 2 3.375 50.187 

1200 = 120 = 50 = A maneh, or mina Hebr. 5 14 0.75 25 09.35 

60000 = 6000 = 3000 = 60 = A talent 342 3 9. 1505 62.5 

A soliclus aureus, or sextula, was worth 12 0.5 2 64 09 

A siclus aureus, or gold shekel, was worth 1 16 6. 8 03. 

A talent of gold was worth 5475 0. 24309 00. 

In the preceding table silver is valued at 5s., and gold at £4 per ounce. 



7. ROMAN MONEY, MENTIONED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, REDUCED 
TO THE ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STANDARDS. 

£. s. d. far. $. cts. 

Amite 0.75 00.343 

A ftirthing, about.. 1.50 00.687 

A penny, or denarius. , 7 2. 13.75 

A pound, or mina 3 2 6 0. 13 75. 

27* 



ItripturB l^rnp^r Mmm, mitli tlinr ligtiifltntinm 



A. 

A^'aron, mountainous, teach- 
ing. 

Abad'^don, destruction. 

Ab^'ana, stony. 

Ab^arim, passages, furies. 

Ab^da, servant, bondage. 

Ab^diel, the servant of God. 

Ab^'don, service, cloud of 
judgment. 

Abed''nego, servant of Nego, 
or light. 

A^bel, He^bel, vanity, vapor. 

A^bel, mourning, when it sig- 
nifies a place. 

A^'bez, an egg, muddy, 

Ab^i, my father. 

Ab^iah, Abi^jah, the Lord my 
Father. 

AbiaFbon, my father over- 
sees the building. 

Abi^athar, excellent, or sur- 
viving father. 

A^'bib, green fruits. 

Abi^dah, father of knowledge. 

Abi^dan, my father is judge. 

Abi^el, God is my father. 

Abie^zen, my Father's help. 

Ab^igail, my Father's joy. 

Abiha^il, Father of strength, 
or trouble. 

Abi^hu, he is my father. 

Abi^jah, the Lord is my 
Father. 



Abi'jam, father of the sea. 

Abima^'el, a father from God. 

Abim^elech, my father is 
king. 

Abin''adab, my father is a 
willing prince. 

Abin^'aam, my father is beau- 
tiful. 

Abi^ram, A^bram, high father. 

Ab-'ishag, my father seizes. 

Abish^ai, father of the pre- 
sent, or oblation. 

Abish^ua, Father of salvation. 

Ab-^ishur, my father is firm, 
upright. 

Abi^tal, father of the dew. 

Abit^ub, my father is good. 

Abi^ud, my father's glory or 
praise. 

Ab^ner, father's lamp. 

A^braham, father of a multi- 
tude. 

Ab^salom, father of perfect 
peace. 

Ac^cad, a pitcher, a sparkle. 

Ac^cho, close, pressed. 

Acha''ia, grief, trouble. 

A^chan, A^char, bruising, 
trouble. 

Ach^bor, a rat, enclosing the 
well. 

Ach'^sab, adorned, bursting 
the veil. 

Ach'^saph, poison, tricks, 
bursting the lip. 

(318) 



SCRIPTTJIIE PEOPER NAMES. 



319 



Ach^zib, a liar, running, de- 
laying. 

Ada^daih, the witness of the 
assembly. 

A-'dah, an assembly. 

Adai^ah, the witness of the 
Lord. 

Ad^'am, Ad^amah, Ad^ami, 
Ad^'mah, earthly, reddish, 
man, comely. 

N. B. — If the names of the 
ten antediluvian patriarchs, 
Ad^am, Sheth, E^nosh, Ke^- 
nan, Mahale^el, Jeered, 
E^noch, Methu^selah, La^- 
mech, No^ah, be jointly ex- 
plained, their signification 
is : man being placed in a 
wretched and lamentable 
condition, the blessed God 
shall descend, teaching that 
his death produced, to de- 
based and smitten men, rest 
and consolation. 

Ad^beel, a cloud or vexer of 
God. 

A^'dar, A^dor, excellent, stock. 

Ad^di, my witness, ornament, 
prey. 

Ad^on, foundation. Lord. 

Ad^iel, witness of the Lord. 

Ad^in, Ad^ina, Ad^inah, 
adorned, voluptuous. 

Aditha''im, two assemblies or 
testimonies. 

Adla^i, my complaint, direc- 
tion. 

Ado^nibezek, lord of Bezek. 

Adoni^jah, my master is the 
Lord. 

Adoni^kam, my Lord hath 
raised. 

Adoni^ram, my Lord is high. 



Adonize^dek, lord of equity. 

Ado^ram, their beauty, power, 
praise. 

AMoram, double excellency. 

Adram^'melech, the king's 
glory. 

Adramyt^tium, the court of 
death. 

AduFlam, their complaint, 
their building. 

Ag^abus, a locust, father's 
feast. 

A^gag, roof, floor. 

Agrip^'pa, causing pain at the 
birth. 

A^gur, gathered, stranger. 

A^hab, brother of the father. 

Aha^va, being, generation. 

A^'haz, seizing, seeing. 

Ahazi^'ah, seizure, or seeing 
of the Lord. 

Ahi^ah, Ahi'jah, brother of the 
Lord. 

Ahie^zer, brother of help. 

Ahi^hud, brother of praise. 

Ahi^kam, a brother raising 
up. 

Ahi-'lud, a brother born. 

Ahima^az, brother of the coun- 
cil. 

Ahi^man, a brother prepared. 

Ahim^elech, brother of the 
king. 

A^himoth, brother of death. 

Ahin^oam, brother of beauty. 

Ahi^o, his brethren. 

Ahi^ra, brother of evil, or shep- 
herds. 

Ahis^amach, my brother sup- 
ports. 

Ahi-'shar, brother of a prince. 

Ahit^ophel, brother of folly or 
ruin. 



320 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



Ahit^ub, brother of goodness. 

Ahla''b, fat, milky. 

Aho^lah, tent. 

Aho^liab, tent of the father. 

Aho^libah, my tent in her. 

Aholib^amah, my high tent. 

A^i, A-'iah, Ha^i, a heap. 

A-'jalon, a chain, strength, 
deer. 

Ak^kub, supplanter. 

Alame^lech, God is king. 

Alexan^der, a helper of men. 

AKlonbach^uth, oak of -weep- 
ing. 

AFmadad, God measures. 

Alphe^us, learned chief. 

Am^alek, a people licking. 

Ama^na, truth, firmness. 

Amari'^ah, word or command 
of the Lord. 

Araa^sa, a people forgiving. 

Amasa^i, the people's pre- 
sent. 

Amasi^ah, the strength of the 
Lord. 

Am^mi, Am'^mah, my people. 

Ammin^adab, my people is 
free, princely, and willing, 



'hud, 



of 



my people 
praise. 

Arami-shad^di, the people of 
the Almighty. 

Am^mon, the people. 

Am^non, Am'' on, firmness, 
truth, foster-father. 

Amo^ri, commanding, bitter, 
rebellious. 

Amnios, weighty, load. 

A-'moz, strong, robust. 

Amphi^polis, a city encom- 
passed with the sea. 

Am^plias, large. 

Ara^ram, a people exalted. 



Am^raphel, a speaker of hid- 
den things, of judgment or 
ruin. 

A^nah, answer, poor, afilicted. 

A^nak, a collar, ornament. 

Anam^melech, king of sheep. 

Ana^thoth, answers, afflic- 
tions, poverty. 

An^'drew, a stout, strong 
man. 

Andro^nicus, avictorious man. 

A^ner, answer, song, affliction, 
light. 

An^na, Ananas, gracious, af- 
flicted, humble. 

An^tioch, equal to, or against 
a chariot. 

An^tipas, against all. 

ApeFles, separation, dis- 
course. 

A^pheck, a rapid stream, 
strength. 

ApoUo^nio, ApoFlos, ApoK- 
lyon, destruction, a de- 
stroyer. 

Ap^phia, fruitfulness. 

A^quila, an eagle. 

Ar, watching, empty, un- 
covered. 

Ara^bia, desert, evening, ra- 
ven, mixed. 

A^ram, highness. 

Ar^arat, the curse of tremb- 
ling. 

Arau^nah. ark, joyful cry, 
curse. 

Ar^'ba, four. 

Archela''us, prince of the 
people. 

Archip^pus, master of the 
horse. 

Arctu''rus, gathering together. 

Ard, command, descent. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



321 



Are/li, the light, or seeing of 

God. 
Are^opagus, Mars hill, or town. 
Are^tas, pleasant, virtuous ; 

but in the Arabic, plougher, 

tearer. 
Ar'^gob, fat land. 
Ari^el, altar or lion, light of 

God. _ 
Aris^chi, long tail, thy lion. 
Aristar^chus, best prince. 
Aristob^ulus, good counsellor. 
Armaged^don, hill of Megid- 

do, or of fruits, destruction 

of troops. 
Ar^non, great joy. 
Aro^er, healthy, naked skin. 
Ar^pad, that makes his bed. 
Arphax^'ad, healer, releaser. 
Arte^mas, whole, sound. 
A^sa, physic. 
As^ahel, work of God. 
Asai^ah, work of the Lord. 
A^saph, gatherer, finisher. 
Ash^dod, Azo''tus, pouring, 

leaning, pillage, theft. 
As''her, Ash'^ur, Assy^ria, 

happy. 
Ash^inia, frame, crime. 
Ashke^naz, spreading fire. 
Ashta''roth, flocks, riches. 
A^sia, muddy, boggy. 
As^kelon, weighing, fire of in- 
famy. 
Asnap^per, unhappiness of the 

bull. 
As^'sir, prisoner, fettered. 
Asyncri^'tus, incomparable. 
A''tad, a thorn. 
Athali^'ah, bar of the Lord. 
Atta^'lia, increasing, sending. 
Av^en, vanity, idols, trouble, 

iniquity, force, wealth. 



Augus^tus,increased,majestic. 

Aza^riah, help or court of the 
Lord. 

Aza^kah, strength of walls. 

xiz^'gad, strong troop, or for- 
tune. 

Az^noth, ears, hearings. 

Az^ur, assistance. 



B. 

Ba^al, lord, husband. 

BaaKah, her idol, a lady. 

BaaK-be^rith, lord of the cove- 
nant. 

Ba''al-ha''mon, lord of the oath, 
or of ruin. 

Ba^ali, my lordly husband. 

BaaFim, lords, idols. 

Ba''al-ze''phon,lord of the north 
or secret. 

Baa'^nah, in the answer or af- 
fliction. 

Baash^'a, in work, seeks, 
wastes. 

Babel, Baby^Ion, confusion, 
mixture. 

Ba''ca, mulberry trees. 

Bahu^rim, choice, valiant. 

Ba^jith or Beth, a house. 

Balaam, a swallower of the 
people. 

Ba'lak, a waster, liker. 

Ba''mah, Ba^moth, high place. 

Barab^bas, son of the father, 
or of shame. 

Bara^chel, blesser of God. 

Barachi^as, blesser of the 
Lord. 

Ba^rak, thunder. 

Barje-sus, son of Jesus. 

Bar-jo^'na, son of Jonas. 



322 



SCRIPTUPvE PROPER NAMES. 



Bar'^nabas, son of prophecy, 

or comfort. 
Bar^sabas, son of the oath, or 

return. 
BarthoKomew, son of the sus- 
pender, of the waters, or of 

Ptolemy. 
Bartime^us, son of the perfect. 
Ba^ruch, blessed, kneeling. 
BarziFlai, made of iron. 
Bashau, an ivory, change, or 

sleep, 
Bashe^math, perfumed. 
Bath^sheba, daughter of the 

oath, or of fulness, or the 

seventh daughter. 
Be^dad, solitary, in the bosom. 
Be^dan, in judgment. 
BeeFzebub, Ba-'alzebub, lord 

of flies. 
Be^er, a well. 
Be^er-la-ha^i-roi, the well of 

him that liveth, and seeth 

me. 
Beer-she^ba, the well of the 

oath. 
Bel, old, nothing. 
Be^lial, M'ithout profit, yoke, 

or ascent. 
Belshaz^zar, or Belteshaz^zar, 

master of the secret trea- 
sure. 
Ben, son. 
Benai^ah, son or building of 

the Lord. 
Ben-ammi, son of my people. 
Benha^dad, son of Hadad. 
Ben^jamin, son of the right 

hand. 
Beno^ni, son of my sorrow. 
Be^or, burning, brutish. 
Bera^chah, blessing, kneeling, 
Bere^a, heavy. 



Be^rith, covenant. 

Berenice, bringer of victory. 

Bes^or, glad news, incarna- 
tion. 

Beth, house, temple. 

BethaVara, house of passage. 

Beth^any, house of song, hu- 
mility, grace. 

Beth-bi^rei, house of my Crea- 
tor or choice. 

Beth-car, house of the lamb 
or knowledge. 

Beth^el, the house of God. 

Be^ther, division, search. 

Bethes^'da, house of mercy, 
pouring. 

Beth-ga^mul, house of recom- 
pense, or weaning, or of 
camels. 

Beth-hac^cerem, the house of 
vineyards. 

Beth-ho^ron, house of wrath, 
or liberty. 

Beth-lehem. house of bread, 
or war. 

Bcth-phage, house of early 
figs. ^ 

Bethsai^da, house of fruits, 
fishing, or hunting. 

Beth''shan, house of ivory, 

sleep, or change. 
! Bethshe^mesh, house of the 
I sun. 

Bethu^el, sonship of God. 
i Beu^lah, married. 

Beza^Ieel, in the shadow of 
God. 

Be^zek, lightning, in chains. 

Bid^kar, in sharp pains, 

BiFdad, old friendship, or 
motion. 

BiFhah, old, troubled, spread- 
ing. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 



323 



Bir^sha, in evil. 

Bithi^ah, daughter of the Lord. 



Bith^ 



di 



vision, se 



arch. 



Bithy^nia, inner country, vio- 
lent haste. 
Blas^tus, sprouting. 
Boaner^ges, sons of thunder. 
Bo^'az, Bo^oz, in strength. 
Bo^chim, Aveepers. 
Boz^ez, muddy. 
Boz^rah, in distress. 
Bui, old age. 
Buz, despised, spoiled. 

c. 

Ca^lul, dirty, displeasing. 

Cai^aphas, seeking, vomiting, 
a rock. 

Cain, possession. 

Ca^lah, favorable, like green 
fruit. 

Ca^leb, dog, basket, hearty. 

CaFneh, CaFno, our finish- 
ing. 

CaFvary, place of skulls. 

Ca'^moD, resurrection, 

Ca^na, zeal, possession, nest, 
reed. 

Ca^naan, merchant, afilicter. 

Can^dace, governor of chil- 
dren. 

Caper^naum, place of repent- 
ance, or praise. 

Caph-^tor, pomegranate, bowl. 

Carche^mesh, a lamb taker 
away. 

Caramel, vineyard of God. 

Car^mi, my vineyard. 

Car^pus, fruitful. 

Casiphi^ money, covetous- 
ness. 



Ce^dron, Ke^dron, black, 
mournful. 

Ceuchre^a, a small pulse, mil- 
let. 

Ce^phas, rock, stone. 

Ce^sa, cut, hairy, divine. 

ChaKcol, who nourishes or 
supports all. 

ChaFdea, or Cheesed, cutting 
with the teeth, milking with 
fingers. 

Che^bar, force, as pure wheat. 

Chedorlao^mer, as a race of 
commanders, roundness of 
the sheaf. 

Che^mosh, handling, taken 
away. 

Chenani'^ah, preparation of the 
Lord. 

Cher^ethins, cutters off, pierc- 
ers. 

Chi^leab, perfection of the 
father. 

Chi^lion, perfection, wasting. 

ChiKmad, as teaching, or 
learning. 

Chim^'ham, like to them. 

Chilis, opening. 

Chis^leu, rashness, confidence. 

Chit^tim, bruisers, golden. 

Chlo'^e, green herb. 

Chora^zin, the mysteries, 

Cu'^shan-rishatha^im, the 
blackness of iniquities, 

Chu^za, vision, prophecy. 

Cili^cia, rolling. 

Cla^uda, lame, mournful, 

Cle^ment, mild, merciful. 

Cle^ophas, learned, chief. 

Colis^se, whitening, punish- 
ment. 

Coni^ah, stability of the Lord. 

Co^rinth, satisfied, adorned. 



324 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



Corne''lius, horny, sunbeam. 
Cos^bi, liar, sliding away. 
Cres^cens, growing. 
Crete, cut off, carnal. 
Cris^pus, curled. 
Cush, Cusba^n, black. 
Cy^'prus, fairies. 
Cyre^ne, a wall, coldness, 
meeting. 

D. 



Dabra^sheth, flowing with 
honey. 

Da^gOD, corn, fish. 

Dalmanu ^ tha, exhausting 
leanness. 

Dalma^tia, vain brightness. 

Dam^aris, little women. 

Damas^cus, bloody sack, simi- 
litude of learning. 

Dan, Di^nah, judgment. 

Da^niel, judgment of God. 

Da-'ra, race of shepherds, or 
wickedness. 

Da^than, Dothan, laws, rites. 

Da^vid, Dod, dear beloved, 
uncle. 

DeVorah, Deb^'erah, De^bir, 
oracle, word, thing, bee. 

Deca^polis, ten cities. 

De^dan, their breasts, orfriend- 
ship. 

DeliFah, small, poor, bucket. 

De^mas, popular. 

Demet^riuSjbelongingto Ceres, 
the goddess of corn. 

Der^be, a sling. 

Deu'^el, knowledge of God. 

Dia^na, light giving, perfect. 

Di^bon, abundance of under- 
standing. 



Did^'ymus, a twin. 

Di''mon, red, bloody. 

Dinha^bah, giving judgment. 

Diony^sius, divinely touched. 

Diotre^phes, nourished by Ju- 
piter. 

Do^eg, uneasy, actor, fisher- 
man. 

Dor, Du^ra, generation, dwell- 
ing. 

Dor^cas, female of a roe-buck. 

DrusiFla, dew watered. 

Dumah, silence, likeness. 

E. 

E^BAL, a dispersed heap. 
E^bed-me-lech, servant of the 

king. 
Ebene^zer, stone of help. 
E^ber, passage, fury. 
E^bisaph, gathering, father 
Ed, witness. 
E^den, pleasure. 
E^dom, red. 
Edre''i, great mass, cloud of 

the wicked. 
Eg^lah, Eg^lon, heifer, chariot, 

round. 
E^hud, the praiser, or praised. 
Ek^ron, barrenness, torn 

away. 
E^lah, E^'lath, an oak, curse, 

strength. 
E''lam, secret, virgin, an age. 
EFbethel, the God of Bethel. 
EKdad, favoured of God. 
Elea^leh, ascension, or offer- 
ing of God. 
Elea^zar or Elu^zer, help of 

God. 
EKhanan, God is gracious. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES, 



325 



E^li, my offering, 
WW, EKoi, my God. 
Eli'^ab, my God is a fiither. 
Elia^dah, knowledge of God. 
Elia^kim, my God arises, or 

revenges. 
Eli^am, my God's people. 
Elizas, or Elijah, my God is 

the Lord. 
Elia^shib,. my God will bring 

back. 
Elia^tha, my God comes. 
Eliho^'reph, my God of winter, 

or youth. 
Eli^hu, himself is my God. 
Eli^kah, pelican of God. 
E^lim, strong ones, rams' 

hearts, valleys. 
Elira^elech, my God is king. 
Elipha^let, my God of deliver- 
ance. 
Eli^phaz, the endeavour of 

God. 
Elishe'^ba, Elizabeth, oath of 

God. 
Eli^sha, Elishu^a, extensive 

salvation of God. 
Elishah, lamb of God. 
Elisha'^mah, my God hears. 
Eli^hud, my God be praised. 
Eli^'zur, my God is a rock. 
Elk^anah, God is jealous, or 

possesses. 
Elnath-'an, God hath given. 
E^lon, oak, grove, strong. 
E^lul, outcry. 

Elu^zai, God is my strength. 
E^lymas, sorcerer. 
E^mims, terrible ones. 
Emma^us, hot baths. 
Em^mor, see Ha^mor. 
En or Ain, eye or fountain. 
28 



En^dor, fountain of race, 
dwelling. 

Enemas, praiseworthy. 

En-egla^im, fountain, or eye of 
calves ; chariots, or round- 
ness. 

Engi-'di, well of the goats, 
happiness. 

En^mish-'phat, well of judg- 
ment. 

E-'noch, teaching, dedicated. 

E^non, fountain, dark mass. 

E^nosh, miserable, despe- 
rate. 

En^rogel, the fuller or travel- 
ler's well. 

Enshe^mesh, the sun's well. 

Ep^'aphras, foamy. 

Epaphrodi ^ tus, agreeable, 
handsome, 

Epenetus, praiseworthy. 

E^pah, weary, flying. 

Ephra^'im, Eph^rath, very 
fruitful. 

E^'phron, dust. 

Epicu^rus, giving assistance. 

Er, watch, enemy. 

Eras^tus, lovely. 

E^rech, length, health. 

Esarhad^don, binding joy, or 
the point. 

E'^sau, perfectly formed. 

E^sek, contention. 

Eshba^al, or Ethba^al, fire, or 
man of Baal. 

Esh-'col, a bunch of grapes. 

Esh^taol, a stout woman. 

Eshtem^a, hearing, woman's 
bosom. 

E^sli, near separated. 

Es''rom, or Hez^ron, dart of 
joy, division of song. 



326 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES, 



E^'sther, a star, excellent 
myrtle. 

E^tam, their bird, or cover- 
ing. 

E^tham, their strength, or 
sign. 

E^than, Etha'^nin, strong, va- 
liant. 

Ethio^pia, burnt face. 

Eu^bulus, prudent in counsel. 

E^unice, good victory. 

Euo^dias, sweet savor. 

Euphra^tes, fructifying. 

Euty^chus, fortunate. 

Eve, living, enlivening. 

Evil-mer^odach, foolish Mero- 
dach. 

Eze''kiel, God is my strength. 

Ez^el, near, walking, dropping. 

Ezion-ge^ber, wood, or coun- 
sel of men. 

Ezra, help a court 



Ee^lix, prosperous, happy. 
Festus, joyful. 
Fortuna^tus, lucky. 



G. 

Ga^al, contempt, abomina- 
tion. 

Ga^ash, storm, overthrow. 

Gab^batha, high, elevated. 

Gabriel, God is my excellency. 

Gad, a troop, good fortune. 

Gadare^nes, walled in, hedged. 

Gad^diel, my troop, or fortune 
is from God. 



Gai^us, earthly. 

Gala^tia, white, milky. 

Ga^leed, heap of whiteness. 

Ga^lilee, heap, rolling, wheel. 

GaFlim, heaper&, rollers. 

GalHo, liver on milk. 

Ga^tam, their lowing or touch. 

Gath, winepress. 

Gath-rim^mon, press for pome- 
granates. 

Ga^za, or A^za, strong, goat- 
ish. 

Ge^ba, a hill, cup. 

Ge^bal, boundary, limit. 

Ge^bim, grasshoppers, high 
ones. 

Gedali^ah, greatness of the 
Lord. 

Geha^zi, valley of sight. 

Gemari^ah, accomplishment 
of the Lord. 

Gennes^aret, garden of the 
prince. 

Ge^ra, Ger^ar, pilgrimage, dis- 
pute. 

Gergase^nes, who come from 
pilgrimage. 

Geriz'^zim, cutters. 

Ger^'shom, stranger there. 

Ger^shon, change of pilgrim- 
age. 

Gesh^ur, valley of oxen. 

Ge^ther, valley, or press of 
iniquity. 

Gethsem^ane, valley, or press 
of oil. 

Gi^ah, direction, sigh. 

Gib^eah, Gib^eon, the hill. 

Gideon, bruising, breaking. 

Gilb^oah, heap of inflamed 
swelling. 

GiFead, heap of witness. 

GiKgal, rolling away. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



32T 



GiKoh, GiKora, rejoicing, over- 
turning. 

Gitta^im, two presses. 

Gob, grasshopper, cistern, 
height. 

Gog, roof, covering. 

GoKan, Goli-'ath, heap, roll- 
ing, discovery. 

Go^mer, finishing, consuming. 

Goraor^rah, people rebellious 
and fearing. 

Goshen, approaching. 

Goz^an, fleece, nourishment. 

Gur, whelp, dwelling, fear. 

H. 

Ha^bakkuk, embracer, wrest- 
ler. 
HachaFiah, waiter for the 

Lord. 
Ha^dad, joy, outcry. 
Hadade^zer, joyful outcry of 

help. 
Ilatlad-rim^raon, joy, or cry of 

pomegranates. 
Hadar, beauty, chamber. 
Hades^sah, myrtle tree. 
Ilador^am, a cry lifted up, 

their cloak or power. 
Ila^drach, chamber, or beauty 

of tenderness. 
Ha^'gar, a stranger, fearing. 
Hag^gai, solemn feast, 
riag^gith, solemn rejoicing. 
Ham, heat, brownness. 
Ilaman, noise, preparation. 
Ha^math, heat, anger, wall. 
Ila^mon-gog, multitude of 

Gog. 
Ha^nor, an ass, clay, wine. 
Ha^mutal, his heat of dew. 



Haname^el, Hanani^el, graco 
and pity, from, or of God. 

Hanani^ah, the grace and gift 
of the Lord. 

Han'^nah, Ha^nun, gracious. 

Ha'^noch, see Enoch. 

Ha^ran, hilly, singing, hot 
wrath. 

Ha-'rod, trembling. 

Harc'sheth, dumbness, deaf- 
ness, tillage. 

Havi''lah, painful, bearing. 

Ha^voth, villages. 

Hashmo^nah, embassy, pre- 
sent. 

Hazard, beholding God. 

Ilazarma '' rath, court of 
death. 

Hazelelpo^ni, sorrow or plung- 
ing of the face. 

Haz''eroth, courts, villages. 

Haz^or, court, hay. 

Heber, passer over, wrath. 

He''bron, fellowship, enchant- 
ment. 

Her^mes, gain. 

He^lan, their army, a dream. 

HeFbon, fatness, milky. 

Held^ai, worldly. 

Helkath-haz ^ urim, field of 
rocks, or strong man. 

Herman, tumult, trouble. 

Hen, grace, rest. 

Hephzi^bah, my delight is in 
her. 

Her^mon, curse, destruction. 

He^rod, glory of the skin. 

Hesh^bon, invention, soon 
built. 

Heth, fear, trembling. 

Hethlon, fearful, dwelling. 

Hezek^iah, the strength and 
support of the Lord. 



328 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 



Ilez'^ron, see Ezrora. 

liidde^kel, sharp sounding. 

IlVe], life of God. _ 

Hiero^polis, holy city. 

Hijzigai^on, Hegai, meditation. 

Iliiki^ah, the Lord my por- 
tion. 

HiKlel, praiser, foolish. 

Hinnom, their shrieking. 

Hiram, Hur^am, their white- 
ness, liberty. 

Hi^vites, lively, serpents. 

Hobab, favored, beloved. 

Ho^'bah, friendship, secresy, 
debt. 

Hodai^ah, Ilodavi^'ah, the 
Lord's praise. 

Hog^lah, her festival, throw- 
ing. 

Hoph^ni, covering me, my 
fist. 

Hor, conceiver, showing. 

Ho^reb, dry, desert, ruinous. 

Horhag^idgad, hill of for- 
tune. 

Ho''ri, free man, wrathful. 

Ho^rim, Hormah, curse, ruin. 

Ho'^ron, Horona^im, raging, 
wrath. 

Hose^'a, Hoshe^'a, Saviour. 

Hul, pain, sand, birth, hope. 

Hul^dah, habitable world. 

Huphim, Huppim, bed cover- 
ing. 

Hur, white, whole, liberty. 

Hu^shai, haste, silence, shame. 

Huzz^ab, molten. 

Hymene^'us, belonging to mar- 
riage. 

I.-J. 

Jaa^alam, hidden, young man. 



Jaazani'^ah, attention, balance, 
or nourishment of the Lord. 

Ja^'bal, producing, gliding 
away. 

Jab^bok, emptying, dispel- 
ling. 

Ja^besh, dryness, sorrow, 
shame. 

Ja^bez, sorrow, trouble. 

Ja^bin, understanding, build' 
ing. 

Ja^chin, establisher. 

Ja^cob, James, healer, sup- 
planter. 

Ja'^el, a kid, ascending. 

Jah, everlasting, self-exist- 
ent. 

Ja^ir, the enlightener. 

Jan^na, answer, aflliction, po- 
verty. 

Ja^'pheth, persuasion, enlarge- 
ment. 

Ja^'phia, enlightening, groan- 
ing. 

Ja^reb, contender, revenger. 

Jarred, descending, ruling. 

Ja^sher, upright, righteous. 

Ja^son, healer. 

Ja^vin, deceiving, sorrowful, 
clay, dirt. 

Ja^zer, helper. 

Ib^har, chosen one. 

Ich^abod, where is the glory ? 

Ico^nium, coming, likeness. 

Id^do, his power, praise, or- 
nament, or witness. 

Idume^a, as Edom. 

Je^bus, trading, contempt. 

Jedid^iah, well beloved. 

Jedu^'thun, who gives praise, 
his law. 

Je^garsahadu^'tha, heap of 
witness. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMEi 



329 



Jeho^ahaz, the Lord sees, or 
takes possession. 

Jeho^ash, or Joash, fire or of- 
fering of the Lord. « 

Jehoi^achin, or Jeeo^niah, 
preparation or establish- 
ment of the Lord. 

Jehoia^da, praise or know- 
ledge of the Lord. 

Jehoia^kim, the Lord will es- 
tablish or raise up. 

Jehona^dab, Jo'^nadab, the 
Lord gives freely. 

Jeho^ram, Jo^ram, the Lord 
will exalt. 

Jehosha^phat, the Lord will 
judge. 

Jeho^vah, self-existing, giving 
being or existence. 

Jeho^vah Tzidke-nu, the Lord 
our righteousness. 

Je^hu, himself existing. 

Jehudi^jah, praise of the Lord. 

Jemi^ma, handsome as the 
day. 

Jeph^thah, the opener. 

Jephun^neh, the beholder. 

Jerah, the moon, the smell. 

Jerahme^el, tender mercy of 
God. 

Jeremi^ah, exaltation of the 
Lord. 

Jer^icho, his moon, his smell. 

Jer^'imoth, heights, rejections. 

Jerobo^am, the contender, or 
increaser of the people. 

Jerubba^al, let Baal plead. 

Jerubbe^sheth, let shame 
plead. 

Jeru-'salem, vision of perfect 
peace. 

Jeru-'sha, inheritor, banished. 

Jeshi^mon desolation, desert. 
^.8* 



Jeshu^'run, upright. 

Jes^se, my present. 

Jes^ui, equal, proper, flat 
country. 

Jesus, Jeshu^a, a Saviour. 

Je^ther, Je^thro, excellent, re- 
maining, search. 

Je^tur, keeping order, hilly. 

Je^ush, gnawed, assembled. 

Jew, of Judah. 

Jez^ebel, isle of the dwelling, 
or dunghill. 

Jez^reel, seed of God. 

Jezzahi^ah, the Lord arises 
brightly. 

IgdaFiah, greatness of the 
Lord. 

Fhaz, quarrel, a dispute. 

Jid^laph, dropping. 

Fjon, eye, well. 

Illy^ricum, rejoicing. 

Im^lah, fulness, circumcision. 

Imman^uel, God with us. 

In^'dia, or Ho'^dis, his praise. 

Joab, fatherliness. 

Jo^ah, brotherhood. 

Joan^nah, grace or gift of the 
Lord. 

Job, weeping, sobbing, hated. 

Joche^bed, glory of the Lord. 

Jo^el, willing, commanding, 
swearing. 

Joez-'er, helper. 

Jo''ha, enlivening. 

Joha^nan, John, grace of the 
Lord. 

Jok^shan, hard, scandalous. 

Jo^nah, a dove, oppressing. 

Jon^athan, the Lord hath 
given. 

Joppa, or Japho, comeliness. 

Jor^dan, descent, river of judg- 
ment. 



330 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



Jo''rim, the Lord exalts, or 
casts. 

Jose, raiser, pardoner, Sa- 
viour, 

Jo^seph, addition, increase. 

Josh^ua, the Lord, the Sa- 
viour. 

Josi^ah, the Lord burns. 

Jo^tham, perfection of the 
Lord, 

Iphed^iah, redemption of the 
Lord, 

Fra, city, watch, spoil, pour- 
ing, 

Frad, vrild ass. 

Iri'^jah, fear, or sight of the 
Lord. 

Is^aac, laughter, joy. 

Isai^ah, salvation of the Lord. 

Is'^cah, anointing, covering. 

Isca^riot, man of the hire, bag, 
or murder. 

Ish^bak, empty, forsaken. 

Ishbibe^nob, sitting in force, 
in word. 

Ishbo^sheth, man of shame. 

Ish^i, my man, my salvation. 

Ish^mael, God will hear. 

Is^rael, princely prevailer with 
God. 

Is^sachar, hire, recompense. 

It^aly, calves. 

Itha^mar, isle of palm trees. 

Ith^'eel, God comes, God with 
me. 

Ithre^am, excellency of the 
people. 

Iture^a, guarded, mountain- 
ous. 

I^va, perverseness. 

Jumbal, produce, trumpet. 

Ju^dah, the praise of the Lord. 

Ju^lia, soft and tender hair. 



Ju^nia, young, belonging to 

Juno, 
Ju^piter, Lord, and helping 

father. 
Jus^tus, righteous. 



K. 

Ka^desh, Ke'^desh, holiness. 

Ka''desh-bar^nea, holiness of 
the fugitive son, i. e., Ish- 
mael. 

Ke^dar, blackness, sorrow, 

Kede^mah, eastern, beginning. 

Ke^'ilah, the divider, cutter. 

Ke^muel, God has raised him. 

Ke^naz, this nest, possession, 
or lamentation. 

Ke^ren-hap''puch, horn of 
painting, 

Ketu^rah, perfumed, incense 
burner. 

Ke^zia, Cas^sia, surface, angle. 

Ke^ziz, furthest end. 

Ki^brotl>-hattaa^vab, graves 
of lust. 

Ki^dron, see Cedron. 

Kir, Kir^jath, Ke^'rioth, city 
wall, calling, reading, meet- 
ing. 

Kirhare^sheth, city of the sun, 
or with walls of burnt brick. 

Kiria^thaim, the two cities. 

Kir^jath-ar^ba, city of Arba. 

Kir^j ath-a^rim, city of watch- 
ers. 

Kir^'jath-ba^al, city of Baal. 

Kir^jath-jea^rim, city of woods. 

Kir^jath-san^nah, city of 
bushes, or hatred. 

Kir^jath-se^pher, city of books 
or letters. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



331 



Kisb, Ki^shon, hard straw, 

old, entangling. 
Kit^tim, see Chittim. 
Ko-'hath, assembly, obedience, 

bluntness. 
Ko^rah, bald, frozen, calling. 
Kushai^ah, hardness, or chain 

of the Lord. 



La^adan, for pleasure. 

La^ban, white, a brick. 

La^chish, walker, self-exister. 

Lah^mi, my bread, or war. 

Lavish, a lion. 

La^mech, poor, despised, 
stricken. 

Laodice^a, a just people. 

Lapi^doth, lamps. 

Laz^arus, helpless, helped of 
God. 

Le^ah, wearied. 

Leb''anon, white frankin- 
cense. 

Leb^beus, strong-hearted. 

Leha^bim, flames. 

Le''hi, jawbone. 

Lem^uel, God is with them. 

Le''vi, joined, associated. 

Lib'^nah, Libni, whiteness. 

Lib^ya, Lu^bin, hearty. 

Li^nus, nets. 

Lode^bar, begetting of the 
word. 

Lo^is, better. 

Lot, wrapped up, myrrh, 
rosin. 

Lu^cas, Luke, Lu''cius, light- 
giving. 

Lu-'cifer, morning star, light- 
bringer. 



Luz, separation, almond, or 

hazel bush. 
Lycao^nia, full of wolves. 
Lyd^da, or Lod, Ly^dia or Lud, 

beffettino; birth. 



Ma^achah, squeezing. 

Massei^ah, work of the Lord. 

Macedo^nia, lifted up. 

Ma^chir, understanding, sell- 
ing. 

Machpe^lah, double. 

Magda^la, a tower, greatness. 

Ma^gog, covering, melting, 

Maha^laleel, praised God, 
praiser of God. 

Maha^lath, melodious s^ong, 
infirmity. 

Mahana''im, two armies. 

Mahane^dan, camp of Dan. 

Maher^shalal-hash^baz, hast- 
ening to the spoil, he hastens 
to the prey. 

Mah^lah, Mah^lon, song, in- 
firmity. 

Makke^dah, prostration, ado- 
ring. 

MaFcham, their king. 

MaKchi^el, God is my king. 

Malchish^ua, my king is a 
Saviour. 

Mam^mon, riches, multitude. 

Mam'^re, rebellious, changing, 
fat, high. 

Mana'^en, see Menahem. 

Man^na, prepared portion. 

Mano^ah, rest, a present. 

Ma^on, dwelling. 

Ma^rah, bitterness. 

Mark, polite, shining. 



132 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



Ma^'ry, see Miriam. 
Masre^kah, whistling, hissing. 
Massah, temptation, trial. 
Matri^my, a prison. 
Mattan, gift, | reigns, their 

death. 
Mattathi^as, Matthi^as, Mat^- 

thew, gift of the Lord. 
Mat^that, gift, giver. 
Mebun^nai, the builder. 
Me^dad, a measurer, juice of 

beasts. 
Me^din, or Ma^dai, measure, 

covering. 
Megid^do, declaring, precious, 

fruit, spoil. 
Mehe^tabeel, how good is God. 
MehujaM, proclaiming God, 
or blotted out, and smitten 
of God. 
Me^lech, a king. 
Melchi''-zedech, king of right- 
eousness. 
Meli^ta, refuge, honey. 
Memphis, drooping, honey- 
comb. 
Men^ahem, Mena^en, com- 
forter. 
Me^ne, he has numbered. 
Mephibo^ sheth, from my 

mouth proceeds shame. 
Me^rab, fighter, multiplier. 
Me^rari, bitter, provoking. 
Mer^'curius, merchant. 
Meri^bah, strife. 
Me^ribaal, strife of Baal. 
Me ^ rodach-baaldam, bitter, 
bruising of Baal, the Lord ; 
bruising myrrh, of the old 
lord or judge. 
Me''rom, high place, lifted 

up. 
Mer^oz, secret, leanness. 



Mesh^ech, Mesh^ach, drawn 

by force, surrounded. 
Meshelemi^ah, peace, perfec- 
tion, or recompense of the 
Lord. 
Mesopota'^mia, between the 
rivers. 

Messi^ah, anointed. 

Methu^sael, death is hell. 

Methu^selah, his death pro- 
duces, at his death, shall 
be the breaking out, viz., 
of the flood. 

Mi^cah, poor, humble,stricken. 

Micai^ah, Mi^chael, who is 
like God. 

Mi^chal, who has all, all is 
water. 

Mich ^ mash, the poor, or 
stricken, is taken away. 

Mi^dian, Me^dan, judgment, 
habit, covering. 

Mi^grom, fear, farm, throat. 

MiKcah, queen. 

MiFcom, their king. 

MiFetum, red, scarlet, soft 
wool. 

MiFlo, filling up. 

Min^ni, Min^nith, numbered, 
prepared. 

Mi^riam, Mary, exalted bit- 
terness of the sea, lady of 
the sea. 

Mish^ael, who is asked for, 
God takes away. 

Mis^'raim, tribulations. 

Mis^rephoth-maim, burning of 
waters, melting furnaces. 

Mityle^ne, purity, press. 

Miza^r, little. 

Miz^peh, Miz^pah, watching. 

Mn'^ason, a diligent seeker, a 
rememberer. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 



333 



M(/!ib, of the father. 

Mola^dah, generation, birth. 

Mo^Iech, Moloch, MaFluch, 
MaFchus, the king. 

Mor^decai, bitter bruising, 
myrrh bruised. 

Mori^ah, doctrine, or fear of 
the Lord. 

Mose^roth, teaching, correc- 
tions, bonds. 

Mouses, drawn out of the 
water. 

Mu^shi, toucher, withdrawer. 

My^ra, flowing, weeping. 

My^sia, criminal, abominable. 

Na^amah-haa^math, comely, 
pleasant. 

Na^both, Ne^baioth, fruits, 
words, prophecies. 

Na^dab, voluntary, princely, 
free. 

NaVge, brightness. 

Naha^rai, Na''hor, hoarse, dry, 
hot, angry. 

Nah^shon, Na^hash, serpent, 
foretelling, brazen. 

Na^hum, Na^um, comforter, 
repenting. 

Na ^ in, beauty, pleasant- 
ness. 

Na^orai, my agreeable plea- 
santness, my comely one. 

Na^phish, refreshing the soul. 

Naph'^tali, my wrestling. 

Narcis^'sus, stupidity, sur- 
prise. 

Na^'than, giver, gift. 

Nathan^ael, Nathan^iel, gift 
of God. 



Naz^areth, kept flower, 
branch. 

Neapo^lis, new city. 

Ne^bat, beholder. 

Ne^bo, speaker, prophet, fruc- 
tifier. 

Nebuchadnez^zar, Nebos' con- 
queror of treasures. 

Nebuchadnez^zar, Nebos'roller 
of treasures ; others think it 
signifies tears, groans, and 
trouble of judgment. 

Nebuzar^adan, Nebos' win- 
nower of lords, or judg- 
ment. 

Ne^cho, smitten, lame. 

Nehe^Iamite, dreamer. 

Ne^hemiah, comfort, or re- 
pentance of the Lord. 

Nehush^ta, Nehush^tan, brass 
work, serpent, soothsay- 

Ner, bright lamp, land new 
tilled. 

Ne^ri, my light. 

Ne^riah, light of the Lord. 

Neth ^ inims, given, conse- 
crated. 

Ni^'canor, a conqueror. 

Nicode^mus, innocent blood, a 
conqueror of the people. 

Nico^las, Nicolai^tans, con- 
quering the people. 

Nic^opolis, city of victory. 

Nigger, black. 

Nim^rim, leopards, changes, 
rebellions. 

Nim ^ rod, rebellion, rulers, 
sleep. 

Nim^shi, rescued, touching. 

Nin^eveh, pleasant, dwelling. 

Ni'^san, flight, standard, trial. 

No, dwelling. 



334 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



NoadKah, -witness, assembly, 

ornament of the Lord. 
No^ah, rest, comfort. 
Nob, prophecy, discourse. 
No^bah, iiarking. 
Nod, vagabond, Avandering. 
Noh^hah, tottering. 
Noph, see Memphis. 
Nun, son, posterity, eternal. 
Nym^phas, bridegroom. 



Obadi^ah, servant of the Lord. 

O^bal, old age, flux. 

O^bed, a servant. 

O^bed-e^dom, a servant of 
Edom. 

O^bil, old, brought, weeping. 

Oc^ran, disturber. 

O^ded, to lift, or hold up. 

Og, a cake baked in the ashes. 

O^hel, tabernacle, brightness. 

Ohom^ri, a sheaf of corn. 

Olym^pas, heavenly. 

O^mar, Om''ri, commanding, 
speech. 

On, O^nan, pain, force, in- 
iquity. 

Ones^imus, profitable. 

Onesiph^orus, bringing profit. 

O^phel, tower, obscurity. 

O^phir, abounding with ashes. 

Oph^rah, dust, lead, fawn. 

O^reb, a raven, evening, mix- 
ture. 

Oth^niel, the time of God. 

O^zem, fasting, eagerness. 

P. 

pAA^RAi, Peer, hole, opening. 



Pa^dan-a^ram, place of Syria, 
or Syria of the two, i. e., 
rivers. 

Pa^giel, intercession with God. 

PaKet, Palti, Phalti, deliver- 
ance, flight. 

Pamphy^lia, all tribes. 

Pa^pbos, hot, boiling. 

Pa^ran, beauty, glory. 

Parme^nas, abiding. 

Pa^rosh, a flea, fruit of moths. 

Paru^a, flourishing. 

Pash^ur, extending the hole, 
whiteness, or freedom. 

Pata^ra, interpreting oracle. 

Pathi^os, corner of dew, or 
water. 

Pat^mos, turpentine tree, 
squeezing. 

Patro^bas, father's steps. 

Pau, crying, appearing. 

PauKus, Paul, little. 

Pedab^zur, redeeming rock. 

Pedai^ah, redemption of the 
Lord. 

Pe^'kah, Pekah^iah, opening 
of the Lord. 

Pelati^ah, deliverance, or flight 
of the Lord. 

Pe'^leg, division. 

Pe^lethites, judges, destroyers. 

Peni^el, Penu^el, Phanu''el, 
face of God. 

Penin^nah, pearl, precious 
stone. 

Per^ga, very earthy. 

Per ^ gamos, height, raising 
up. 

Pe^rizzites, scattered in vil- 
lages. 

Per^sians, Per^sis, Parthians, 
divided horsemen. 

Pester, a rock. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES, 



335 



Pethu^el, enlargement, or per- 
suasion of God. 

PhaFlu, admirable, hidden. 

Phar^ez, Pera^zira, breaking 
forth, violently. 

Phar-'par, Par'^bar, fruitful. 

Phe^'be, shrning, pure. 

Pheni^ce, red, purple, palm 
tree. 

PhiFcol, completed, mouth. 

Philadelphia, love of breth- 
ren. 

Phi^lemon, affectionate kisser. 

Phile^tus, beloved, escaped. 

PhiKip, Philip^pi, love of 
horses. 

Ph ills'' tines, Pales^tine, roll- 
ing, wrapping, digging, 
searching. 

Philol '^ ogus, lover of learn- 

Phine^has, beholding, trust 

or protection. 
Phle'^gon, burning. 
Phry^gia, dry, barren, burnt. 
Phu^rah, growing, fruitful. 
PhygeFlus, little, fugitive. 
Pi-hai-'roth, pass of Hiroth, 

opening of liberty. 
Pi^kte, armed with darts. • 
Pi-'non, Pu^non, beholding, 

pearl, jewel. 
Pira^thon, scattering, breach, 

revenge. 
Pis^'gah, hill, height, fortress. 
Pisi^dia, pitchy. 
Pi^son, changing, doubling, 

wide mouth. 
Pi^thon, persuasion, gift of 

the mouth. 
Pon^tius, Pontus, of the sea. 
Pris^'ca, PrisciHa, ancient. 
Procho^rus, chief of the choir. 



Pu^ah, corner, growing, ap- 
pearing. 
Pu^dens, shamefaced. 
Pul, bean, destruction. 
Pur, lot. 

Put, or Phut, fatness. 
PutiM, God is my fatness. 
Puteo'^li, stinking little wells. 



QuAR^Tus, the fourth. 

R. 

Kaa^mah, thunder, bruising. 

Rab''bath, greatness, conten- 
tion. 

Rab, master ; Rab '' bi, my 
master. 

Ra^chel, injurious, perfuming. 

Rah^ab, proud, quarrelsome, 
largeness. 

Rak^kath, Rakon, empty, 
spittle. 

Ram, Ra^mah, Ra^'math, Ari- 
math^ea, high, lifted up, re- 
jected. 

Ramatha ^ im-zophim, double 
Ramah of the watchmen. 

Ra ^ pha, Ra ^ phu, healing, 
loosing. 

Re^ba, the fourth. 

Rebek^ah, fatted, pacified. 

Re^chab, square, riding-cha- 
riot. 

Re^gim, stoning, purple. 

Rehabi^ah, the Lord will ex- 
tend. 

Re^hob, Reho^both, street, wil- 
derness. 



336 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 



Rehobo^am, enlarger of the 

people. 
Re^hum, merciful, friendly. 
Rel, my friend. 
Remali'^ah, the Lord exalts, or 

rejects. 
Rem^mon, Rimmon, height, 

pomegranate. 
Repha^el, God heals. 
Repha^im, giants, healers, re- 

laxers. 
Rephi^dira, beds of rest. 
Re^sen, a bridle. 
Reu, or Ragan, his friend. 
Reu^el, Ra-'guel, friend of 

God. 
Reu^ben, see a son. 
Reu^mah, lofty. 
Rez^in, voluntary runner. 
Re^zon, lean, small, secret, 

prince. 
Rhe^gium, breach. 
Rhe^sa, will, course. 
Rhonda, Rhodes, a rose. 
Rib^lah, budding, sifting. 
Riff^ath, healing, release. 
Riph^oth, watering, dewy. 
Riz^path, bed, coal, free-stone. 
Roda^nim, descending, com- 
manding. 
Roman^ti-ezu, exalting-help. 
Rome, strength, height. 
Rosh, head, beginning, poison. 
Ru^fus, red. 
Ruha^mah, having obtained 

mercy. 
Ru^mah, exalted, rejected. 
Ruth, drunk, satisfied. 



Sabe^'ans, eee Seba, Sheba. 



Sab^ta, surrounding. 
" ibte ^ cha, surroui 

causing to strike. 
Sa^lah, see She^lah. 
Sala^mis, peaceful, tossed. 
Sala^thiel, Sheal-ti^el, asked of 

God, loan of Ge^. 
Sa^lem, Sa^lim, SaFmon, Sa- 

lo^me, peaceable, perfect, 

reward. 
Sama^ria, guard prison. 
Sam''la, raiment, left hand. 
Sa^mos, sandy. 
Sampson, son, service. 
Sam^uel, asked of, and sent to 

God. 
SanbaKlat, secret bush, or 

enemy. 
Sansan-'nah, bushy. 
Saph, Suph, Sip^pai, rushes, 

end, flat, threshold, bason. 
Saphir, Sapphi^ra, relation, 

book. 
Sarah, lady ; Sarai, my lady. 
Sarse^chim, master of the 

wardrobes, or perfumes. 
Satan, burning, adversary. 
Saul, asked, lent, grave, hell. 
Scy^thian, bowman, tanner. 
Seba, Sa^beans, drunken, sur- 
rounding, old. 
Se^bat, Sherbet, twig, sceptre, 

tribe. 
Se -^ gub, fortified, raised 

high. 
Se''ir, Shaa^rim, hairy, goat, 

devil, tempest, barley, 

gate. 
Se^mei, hearing, obedient. 
Sennach^erib, bush of the 

sword, drought, solitude. 
Sepharva^im, the two books, 

or scribes. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES, 



337 



Seraph, lady of scent, morn- 
ing star. 

SeraKah, prince, or song of 
the Lord. 

Se ^ rug, Sa ^ ruch, branch, 
twining. 

Seth, Sheth, placed, appointed. 

ShaaKbim, ShaaKbin, ShaaK- 
bon, pertaining to foxes. 

Shaa^im, foxes, fists, paths. 

ShaaKisha, three, third, 
prince. 

Sha^drach, tender nipple, fol- 
lower of Shaach, the idol. 

ShaKlum, ShaFman, peace- 
able, perfect, rewarder. 

Shalmane^'ser, peace, perfec- 
tion, or reward, chained, 
perfection of Assyria. 

Sham^gar, astonished, stran- 
ger. 

Sham^huth, Sham^mah, deso- 
lation, astonishment. 

Sha^mir, She^mer, prison, 
bush, loss, thorn. 

Shammu''ah, heard, obeyed. 

Sha^phan, rabbit, their lip. 

Sha'^phat, judging. 

Sha^rai, my prince, my song. 

Shara'^zer, master of the trea- 
sury. 

Sha-'ron, a princely plain. 

Sha^reh, a plain, equality. 

Sha^shak, a sixth bag of linen. 

Sheari^ah, gate, or storm of 
the Lord. 

She^ba, Sheb'^na, captivity, 
conversion, recalling from 
captivity. 

She ^ chem, shoulder, part 
early. 

She^deur, destroyer of fire. 

Shek^el, weighing. 

29 



Shc'lah, Sa^la, sending, rest. 

Shelemi^ah, perfection, peace, 
or reward of the Lord. 

SheFep, drawing out. 

Shelo^mith, Shu-'lamite, peace, 
perfection, or recompense. 

Shelumi^el, God is my peace, 
perfection, and reward. 

Shem, Sem, putting name, re- 
nown. 

Shemi-'ah, hearing of the 
Lord. 

Shemari^ab, guard, or dia- 
mond of the Lord. 

Sheme-'ber, man of strength, 
or wing. 

Shemi^da, name of knovrledge. 

Shemira^moth, names of ex- 
ultations. 

Shen, tooth, ivory, change. 

She^nir, sleeping, or renewed 
lamp. 

She^va, vanity, height, tu- 
mult. 

Shib^boleth, stream, bridge, 
ear of corn. 

Shich^ron, drunkenness, gift, 
wages. 

Shilo^ah, Silo^am, sent. 

Shi^'loh, peace, salvation. 

Shim^eah, Shim^ei, hearing, 
obedient. 

Shi^nar, shaking out. 

Shiph^rah, handsome trum- 
pet. 

Shit ^ tim, thorns, turners 
away. 

Sho''bab, turned back. 

Sho^bach, Sho^pach, a dove 
house. 

Shu ''ah, a pit, swimming, 
humiliation, meditation, 
speech. 



338 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES 



Shu^al, fox, fist, path. 

Shu^nem, their change, re- 
peating or sleeping. 

Shur, beholding, wall, ox. 

Shu^shan, Susan^na, lily, rose, 
joy. 

Shuthe^lah, planting, drink- 
ing-pot. 

Sib^mah, She^bam, turning, 
captivity, rest, old age. 

Sid^dim, bruised fields. 

Siphon, rooting out, conclu- 
sion. 

Si^hor, Shi^hor, black, trou- 
ble, early. 

Si''las or Ter^tius, the third. 

Silva^nus, woody. 

Si'^meon, Si^'mon, hearing, obe- 
dient. 

Sin, Si^'nai, Se^neh, Si^'van, 
bush. 

Si^on, Siphon, noise, tumult. 

Si^rion, breastplate. 

Sis''era, view of horses, or 
swallows. 

Smyr^na, myrrh. 

So^di, my secret. 

Sod^om, their secret ; but in 
the Arabic, it signifies hid- 
den pit, anxious desire, re- 
pentance. 

SoFomon, the same as She- 
lomith. 

So^pater, Sosi^pater, saving 
the father. 

So'^rek, hissing, yellowish, 
vine. 

Sos^thenes, strong savor. 

Spain, rabbits, precious. 

Stepha^nas, Ste^phen, a crown. 

Suc^coth, So^coth, tabernacles. 

Sue ^ coth-be ^ noth, tents of 
daughters. 



Sur, departure. 

Su^si, my house, moth, or 

swallow. 
Sy^char, drunkenness. 
Sye^ne, the same as Sin. 
Synty^che, fellowship, con' 

verse. 
Syr^acuse, violent drawing. 

T. 

Taa^nah, thy humbler, an- 
swerer, or afiecter. 

Taa^nah-shi^loh, fig producer. 

Tabba^oth, sunk deep. 

TaVbath, goodness. 

Tabe^el, God is good. 

Tab^itha, clear-sighted, wild 
goat. 

Ta^bor, choice, purity. 

Tabrim^mon, good pomegra- 
nate. 

Tad^mor, palm tree. 

TaFmai, Te^lem, furrow. 

Ta''mar, palm tree. 

Tam''muz, concealed. 

Tan^humeth, comfort, repent- 
ance. 

Tar-'shish, blue colored, ma- 
king poor. 

Tar^tak, chained up. 

Tar^tan, their law, or instruc- 
tion. 

Tat^nai, overseers of presents. 

Te^bah, butchery, cookery. 

Te^beth, goodness. 

Te'^kel, weighing. 

Te^koah, sound of the trum- 
pet, or suspension. 

Telhar ^ sha, heap of the 
plough. 

Telme^^ah, heap of salt. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



339 



Te^ma, Teaman, admiration, 

perfection, south. 
Te-'rah, breathing, scent. 
Ter^aphim, images, baseness, 

reproach. 
Tertul'lus, a cheat, crested, 
singer. 

Thad''deus, praise, confession. 

Tha^hash, hastening. 

Tha^mah, blotting out. 

The^bez, muddy, eggs, fine 
linen. 

Theoph^ilus, lover of God. 

Thessaloni^ca, victory over the 
Thessalians. 

Theu^das, the same as Thad- 
deus. 

Thom^as, a twin, sound. 

Thyati^ra, daughter, sacrifice 
of bruising, labor. 

Tibe^rias, Tibe^rius, from the 
river Tiber. 

Tib^ni, my straw, or under- 
standing. 

Ti ^ dal, knowledge of high 
things, breaker of the yoke. 

Tiglath-pi^leser, the captiva- 
ting work of Pul the As- 
syrian, or the wonderful 
binder of captives. 

Tim^hath, figure, reckoning. 

Tim^eus, or Ti^mon, perfect, 
honorable. 

Timo^theus, honor of God. 

Tiph^sah, passage over. 

Tirha^kah, inquirer, dull law- 
giver. 

Tir^zah, well pleasing. 

Tish^beh, turning back. 

Ti^tus, honorable. 

Tob, goodness. 

Tobi-'ah, goodness of the 
Lord. 



Tob-adoni^jah, the goodness 
of the supporting Lord. 

Togar^mah, bony, breaking of 
bones. 

To^hu, living, and declaring. 

To^i, Tore, wandering. 

To^phel, ruin, folly, tasteless. 

To^phet, a drum. 

To^phi^mus, well educated. 

Tryphe^na, delicious. 

Trypho^sa, very shining. 

Tu^'bal, confusion, world 
bringing back. 

Tu''bal-Cain, Cain shall be 
brought back, worldly pos- 
session. 

Tych^icus, fortunate. 

Tyran^nus, reigning prince. 

Tyre, or Tzur, the rock, 
strong. 



U^cal, prevalent power. 

U^lam, their folly, the porch. 

UKla, lifting up, burnt-ofPer- 
ing, leaf, little child. 

Un''ni, poor, afilicted, an- 
swerer. 

Ur, light, free, a valley. 

Uri^jah, Uri^ah, light of the 
Lord. 

Uri^el, God is my light. 

U^thai, my time. 

Uz, council. 

Uz^zen-sher^ah, the attention 
of the rest, the ear of 
flesh. 

Uz^zah, strength, goat. 

Uzzi^'ah, the Lord is my 
strength. 

Uzzi^el, God is my strength. 



340 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



Yash^mi, the second. 
Vopli^si, fragrant, lessening. 



Zab^bai, my flowing. 

Zab^di, my portion, or dowry. 

Zac ^ cai, Zac ^ cheus, pure, 
just. 

Zachari^ah, memory of the 
Lord. 

Za^chur, Za^chir, remem- 
bered. 

Za^dok, righteous, justified. 

Za^ham, crime, filthiness. 

ZaKmon, Zalmo'^nah, shadowy 
image. 

Zilmun^na, shadow, or tink- 
ling of prohibition, or com- 
motion. 

Zanzum^mims, projectors of 
crime. 

Za^noah, forgetfulness, deser- 
tion. 

Za''rah, Ze^rah, east bright- 
ness, rising. 

Zare^phath, casting of metals, 
a crucible, refining. 

Zebadi-'ah, Zebedee^, the Lord 
is my portion. 

Zebo^im, painted, deer, ser- 
pents. 

Ze^bul, Zeb^ulun, dwelling. 

Zedeki^ah, righteousness of 
the Lord. 

Ze^eb, wolf. 

Ze^lek, noisy. 

Zelophe^had, the shadow of 
fear. 



Ze^lotes, full of zeal and jeal- 
ousy. 

ZeKzah, noontide. 

Ze'^nas, living. 

Ze^phon, Zephani'^ah, the se- 
cret of the Lord. 

Zep^hath, Ze^pho, Ze^phi, 
Ziph^ion, beholding, cover- 
ing. 

Zere^da, Zereda^tha, ambush, 
plan of power. 

Ze^ror, binding, root. 

Zeru^ah, leprous, wasp. 

ZerruVbabel, stranger from 
Babel, alien from confu- 
sion. 

Zerui^ah, pain, or chain of the 
Lord. 

Zi^ba, or Zib^iah, army, bat- 
tle, stag. 

Zib^eon, painting. 

Zich^ri, my remembrancer, or 
male. 

Zi^don, hunting, fishing, veni- 
son. 

Zif, brightness. 

Zig^lag, measure, pressed 
down. 

ZiFlah, shadowy, tingling of 
ears. 

ZiKpah, dropping. 

Zim^ram, song, vino, pruning. 

Zini'^ri, my pruning vine, son. 

Zin, buckler, coldness. 

Zi^on, Sion, dry sepulchral 
heap. 

Zi^or, ship of the watcher. 

Zi^ph, falsity. 

Zip^por, Zippo^rah, Zo^phar, 
turning about, bird, goat. 

Zith'^ri, my leanness, my herb, 
savory. 

Ziz, flower, branch. 



SCRIPTURE PROPER NAMES. 



341 



Zo^an, motion, laying up. 

Zo^ar, Zair, Zi^or, Zu^ar, 
small chief. 

Zobe^bah, swelling. 

Zo''phah, Zo^'phim, Zuph, be- 
holding, honey-comb, roof, 
covering. 



Zo'^rah, leprosy, scab. 
Zur, stone, rock from edge. 
Zurishad^dai, the Almighty is 

my rock or strength. 
Zu^zims, posts of a door, 

splendor, beauty. 



THE END, 



